El Salvador

American

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

noun

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

El Salvador British

/ ɛl ˈsælvəˌdɔː /

noun

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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The electrical engineer, who gave his age as “over 1,000,” came to the United States from El Salvador illegally in 1975 but was now a citizen.

From Los Angeles Times

Now it is thronged with tourists, lured by the transformation of El Salvador from one of the region's deadliest countries to one of its safest.

From Barron's

Over 20 nations have signed on, including multiple Middle Eastern countries, El Salvador, Hungary and Uzbekistan.

From The Wall Street Journal

Toruño was almost 10 when she emigrated from El Salvador to the United States, carrying with her the visual language of a country emerging from civil war.

From Los Angeles Times

Fernández has said she will declare a state of emergency in areas where gangs hold sway and finish the construction of a high-security jail similar to the Cecot prison in El Salvador.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023