Puerto Rico

American  

[pwer-tuh ree-koh, pwer-toh, pawr-tuh, pwer-taw ree-kaw] / ˈpwɛr tə ˈri koʊ, ˈpwɛr toʊ, ˈpɔr tə, ˈpwɛr tɔ ˈri kɔ /

noun

1. an island in the central West Indies: a commonwealth associated with the U.S. 3,435 sq. mi. (8,895 sq. km). San Juan. P.R., PR

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Puerto Rico British  

/ ˈpwɛə-, ˈpwɜːtəʊ ˈriːkəʊ /

noun

1. Former name (until 1932): Porto Rico.   PR.  an autonomous commonwealth (in association with the US) occupying the smallest and easternmost of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean: one of the most densely populated areas in the world; ceded by Spain to the US in 1899. Currency: US dollar. Capital: San Juan. Pop: 3 674 209 (2013 est). Area: 9104 sq km (3515 sq miles)

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Puerto Rico Cultural  

1. Island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Miami, Florida. Its capital and largest city is San Juan.

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Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States. Citizens of Puerto Rico are also American citizens but do not vote in federal elections and do not pay federal taxes on their local earnings.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Puerto Rican
  adjective

Example Sentences

Roosevelt employed Mahan’s theories as assistant secretary of the Navy during the Spanish-American War in 1898, when the U.S. seized Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and more.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

The couple married in 2022, according to a marriage certificate, and Serrano was born in Puerto Rico, making him a US citizen by birth.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

A Facebook post by Club Gallistico de Puerto Rico on Dec. 17, 2025, pictures the Ortiz brothers and lists them as participants in a cockfighting event.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

“We deliver from the tip of Puerto Rico to the tip of Alaska for 78 cents. That’s a distance of 5,000 miles.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

That everything had changed, but nothing had changed, that whatever Mami had been looking for when she brought us to Brooklyn was not there, just as it wasn’t in Puerto Rico.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago