barrio

American  

[bahr-ee-oh, bar-, bahr-ryaw] / ˈbɑr iˌoʊ, ˈbær-, ˈbɑr ryɔ /

noun

plural

barrios

1. (in Spain and countries colonized by Spain) one of the divisions into which a town or city, together with the contiguous rural territory, is divided.

2. a part of a large U.S. city, especially a crowded inner-city area, inhabited chiefly by a Spanish-speaking population.

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barrio British  

/ ˈbarrjo, ˈbærɪəʊ /

noun

1. a Spanish-speaking quarter in a town or city, esp in the US

2. a Spanish-speaking community

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Etymology

Origin of barrio

First recorded in 1890–95; from Spanish: literally, “district, neighborhood,” from Arabic barrī “of open country” (equivalent to barr “outside, open country” + -i adjective suffix) + -o Spanish noun suffix

Example Sentences

It’s a charming barrio, and it’s been under siege, like many other neighborhoods in the Windy City.

From Los Angeles Times

Similarly, reggaetón developed in the working-class barrios and public housing developments of Puerto Rico.

From Los Angeles Times

By contrast, Boca have always remained in their spiritual home, the famous La Bombonera stadium that is seemingly dropped into the middle of the 'barrio', a high-poverty district of the city.

From BBC

In reality, she was a “working-class Mexicana from Mazatlan who fled north to reclaim a tiny corner of a Los Angeles barrio, Frogtown,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

“It was always about barrios, borders and bodegas,” she told NPR’s “All Things Considered” in 2006, describing what publishers and readers expected from her.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• part
• place
• point
• region
• sector