Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • A self-governing island commonwealth of the United States in the Caribbean Sea east of Hispaniola. Inhabited by the Taíno when it was visited by Columbus in 1493, it was colonized by the Spanish in the 1500s and ceded to the United States in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917, although residents of the island do not vote in US presidential elections. Commonwealth status was proclaimed in 1952 and has been upheld by various plebiscites since the 1960s. San Juan is the capital and the largest city.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A self-governing Commonwealth in the Caribbean which is a territory of the United States. Official name: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the smallest and easternmost of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean
  • noun a self-governing commonwealth associated with the United States occupying the island of Puerto Rico

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish "Rich Port"

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Examples

  • If I call Puerto Rico and the twin at home answers, she says, “How are you, Americo,” and gives the phone to Pa-pi, who says to come visit, that the coconuts fall and you drink the milk from a straw, and that at night the guys play drums around fires on the beach.

    Born Here 2010

  • Mexico border, but it is enough activity for the Department of Justice to label Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands a "major bulk cash movement center" in a recent report.

    SFGate: Don Asmussen: Bad Reporter By BEN FOX 2011

  • Mexico border, but it is enough activity for the Department of Justice to label Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands a "major bulk cash movement center" in a recent report.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • The United States already has one huge radio astronomy dish at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, which is a thousand feet across and can pick up radio signals from 100 million light-years away.

    First Contact Marc Kaufman 2011

  • The United States already has one huge radio astronomy dish at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, which is a thousand feet across and can pick up radio signals from 100 million light-years away.

    First Contact Marc Kaufman 2011

  • Although we still haven't been on an official Sierra Club outing, our family went on a short vacation to Puerto Rico, which is home to the Sierra Club's newest chapter.

    Michael Brune: Hit the Dirt Michael Brune 2011

  • Although we still haven't been on an official Sierra Club outing, our family went on a short vacation to Puerto Rico, which is home to the Sierra Club's newest chapter.

    Michael Brune: Hit the Dirt Michael Brune 2011

  • He even called Puerto Rico a "country" — then insisted he didn't "care what it is" when corrected.

    And the Winner in Idaho's GOP House Primary Is ... the Democrat. 2010

  • DEL TORO: Well, I, first of all, was born in Puerto Rico, which is the Caribbean.

    CNN Transcript Jan 18, 2010 2010

  • Clinton's ONLY HOPE at getting a popular vote majority is by including Puerto Rico, which is not a state and gets no electoral votes in November.

    Hillary's Letter To Super-Delegates: I'm The One 2009

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