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• San José
  San José

  noun

  a city in and the capital of Costa Rica, in the central part.
• San Jose
  San Jose

  noun

  a city in W California.

San José

¹ American  

[sahn haw-se] / ˌsɑn hɔˈsɛ /

noun

1. a city in and the capital of Costa Rica, in the central part.

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San Jose ² American  

[san hoh-zey] / ˌsæn hoʊˈzeɪ /

noun

1. a city in W California.

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San Jose ¹ British  

/ ˌsæn həʊˈzeɪ /

noun

1. a city in W central California: a leading world centre of the fruit drying and canning industry. Pop: 898 349 (2003 est)

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San José ² British  

/ saŋ xoˈse /

noun

1. the capital of Costa Rica, on the central plateau: a major centre of coffee production in the mid-19th century; University of Costa Rica (1843). Pop: 1 145 000 (2005 est)

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San Jose Cultural  

1. A city in northern California.

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Discover More

Center for the electronics and high-tech (see also high-tech) industries. (See Silicon Valley.)

Example Sentences

Looking abroad, San José in Costa Rica and Guatemala City in Guatemala have the cheapest flights right now, according to Going.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

One person died in an apartment fire ignited by a faulty e-bike battery in San José last week, authorities said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

The San José fintech giant is losing market share to competitors and had to swap out its leadership recently as its shares plunged, and it scrambled for a faster fix.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

San José del Cabo, a coastal city in Mexico, is more convenient and better equipped for tourism.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

For centuries, the San José lay lost on the ocean floor.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler