Negro

¹ American  

[nee-groh] / ˈni groʊ /

noun

Negroes plural

1. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) a member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Negro race, especially those who originate in sub-Saharan Africa.

2. Older Use: Often Offensive. a Black person.

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adjective

1. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) of, relating to, or characteristic of one of the traditional racial divisions of humankind, generally marked by brown to black skin pigmentation, dark eyes, and tightly curled hair and including especially the Indigenous peoples of Africa south of the Sahara.

2. Older Use. of or relating to Black people, often African Americans: the Negro leagues in baseball.

   a Negro spiritual;

   the Negro leagues in baseball.

Negro ² American  

[ney-groh, ne-graw, ne-groo] / ˈneɪ groʊ, ˈnɛ grɔ, ˈnɛ grʊ /

noun

1. a river in NW South America, flowing SE from E Colombia through N Brazil into the Amazon. 1,400 miles (2,255 km) long.

2. a river in S Argentina, flowing E from the Andes to the Atlantic. 700 miles (1,125 km) long.

3. a river in SE South America, flowing S from Brazil and W through Uruguay, to the Uruguay River. About 500 miles (800 km) long.

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Negro ¹ British  

/ ˈnɛɡ-, ˈneɪɡrəʊ /

noun

1. a river in NW South America, rising in E Colombia (as the Guainía) and flowing east, then south as part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela, entering Brazil and continuing southeast to join the Amazon at Manáus. Length: about 2250 km (1400 miles)

2. a river in S central Argentina, formed by the confluence of the Neuquén and Limay Rivers and flowing east and southeast to the Atlantic. Length: about 1014 km (630 miles)

3. a river in central Uruguay, rising in S Brazil and flowing southwest into the Uruguay River. Length: about 467 km (290 miles)

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Negro ² British  

/ ˈniːɡrəʊ /

noun

1. a member of any of the dark-skinned indigenous peoples of Africa and their descendants elsewhere

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adjective

1. relating to or characteristic of Negroes

Sensitive Note

See Black ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Negroism
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• Negroes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Negro

First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish and Portuguese negro “black,” from Latin nigrum, masculine accusative of niger “black”

Example Sentences

Having moved there to enjoy the countryside peace and quiet, "we'd like Foujou to stay the way it is", Del Negro said.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

The oil giant recently sent a technical team to survey the Cerro Negro heavy-oil project that it operated until 2007 when Hugo Chávez nationalized much of the country’s energy infrastructure.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

For instance, we launched a plane repair project in Rio Negro, made possible because we have specialized aeronautical technical schools.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

In 1936, a Harlem postal worker named Victor Green began publishing the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to the hotels, restaurants and gas stations along the route that would serve Black travelers.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

“George Cleveland Hall was a local physician. He served on the board of directors as one of the Chicago Public Library’s first Negro members.”

From "Finding Langston" by Lesa Cline-Ransome