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

See Examples For:

El Salvador

Last winter, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi clashed with Weiss over the editor’s decision to hold a story about an El Salvador maximum-security prison.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

In Guatemala and El Salvador, the tremor shook buildings, triggering evacuations and causing some people to run from their homes, Reuters news agency reported.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

They include countries that Venezuela’s government had considered sworn enemies at the start of the year like El Salvador, Israel and the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

Rescuers from the United States, Chile, Portugal, El Salvador, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Venezuela shared angst, and finally joy, when Gil emerged from his confinement around 9:00 a.m. on July 2nd.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

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

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario