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El Salvador

American  
[el sal-vuh-dawr, el sahl-vah-thawr] / ɛl ˈsæl vəˌdɔr, ɛl ˌsɑl vɑˈðɔr /

noun

  1. a republic in NW Central America. 13,176 sq. mi. (34,125 sq. km). San Salvador.


El Salvador British  
/ ɛl ˈsælvəˌdɔː /

noun

  1. a republic in Central America, on the Pacific: colonized by the Spanish from 1524; declared independence in 1841, becoming a republic in 1856. It consists of coastal lowlands rising to a central plateau. Coffee constitutes over a third of the total exports. Official language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: US dollar. Capital: San Salvador. Pop: 6 108 590 (2013 est). Area: 21 393 sq km (8236 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

El Salvador Cultural  
  1. Republic on the Pacific coast of Central America, bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the north and east by Honduras, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean. San Salvador is its capital and largest city.


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Torn by civil unrest and characterized by guerrilla warfare and terrorism (which has included the murder of American civilians), El Salvador became in the 1980s a controversial focus of an American foreign policy that sought to protect American interests in Central America. Unrest eased in the 1990s.

Example Sentences

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El Salvador has deployed more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti as part of a mission to retrieve four nationals who went missing in the Caribbean country almost two weeks ago.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

McNulty has studied elections in countries like El Salvador, Hungary and Venezuela.

From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026

El Salvador has deployed special forces to Haiti after four of its soldiers serving in a UN-backed force in the Caribbean nation went missing following a gang ambush, officials said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

Ecuador could come out a winner if it can copy Colombia and avoid the error of El Salvador.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

They talk of giving up, heading back to El Salvador or Nicaragua.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

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