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.

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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)

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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

A leather factory worker in Minnesota who had fled El Salvador, Aguilar cobbled together the money in installments through loans from friends and that year’s tax refund.

From Salon • May 2, 2026

Born in El Salvador, Menjivar-Ayala migrated to the United States in 1990, according to a biography on the Washington diocese website.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

And segments of a dining room table that belonged to embassy housing in Nigeria or El Salvador that the movers accidentally packed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

He also said he has retained an attorney in El Salvador to investigate whether there are any outstanding warrants for Hernández.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

She flew up the Galapagos longitude, headed straight for El Salvador in line for Wisconsin.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George