The capital and largest city of Puerto Rico, in the northeast part of the island on the Atlantic Ocean. Settled by Ponce de León in 1508-1509, it was attacked by English buccaneers in the 1590s and sacked by the Dutch in 1625. American forces took control of the city during the Spanish-American War (1898). Population: 427,000.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.