Latino

American  

[luh-tee-noh, la-] / ləˈti noʊ, læ- /

Or latino

adjective

1. of or relating to people of Latin American origin or descent, especially those living in the United States: Latino audiences;

   Latino business owners;

   Latino audiences;

   the Latino community;

   Latino immigrants.

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noun

• Latinos
  plural

1. a person of Latin American origin or descent, especially one living in the United States.

   a growing population of Latinos in the Midwest.

Latino British  

/ læˈtiːnəʊ /

noun

1. an inhabitant of the US who is of Latin American origin

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Latina
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Latinos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Latino

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50; from Spanish (United States), perhaps by ellipsis from Spanish latinoamericano “Latin American,” equivalent to latino “Latin” (referring to the places or people with Latinate or Romance language in common) + americano “American”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Latino Latinos

In response, some schools have cut back on programs aimed at helping minority students, even relatively benign initiatives like special orientation events, and Black and Latino enrollment at top universities has fallen.

From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026

More broadly, campus programs to support the academic success of Latino and Black students have also been cut down at some UC campuses, though administrators have blamed budget cuts for the draw downs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Kroenke is buying the Angels from Arte Moreno, Major League Baseball’s first Latino owner who has overseen the club’s current streak of 11 consecutive losing seasons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Following the premiere of the ‘Reading Rainbow’ reboot, host and internet librarian Mychal Threets speaks about his Latino heritage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Mom taught US Latino literature in the English department, so sniffing out “authors of color” was one of her SuperMexican superpowers.

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

Backing from a group of powerful Latinos helped him win his first Assembly race and, two years later, an open U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Black people, Latinos, and Asian Americans have much less representation in the Senate than they do in the House.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026

“We had no choice to leave Cuba, we couldn’t take it anymore,” said Jorge Ruiz, a professional baseball player from Havana who emigrated eight months ago and recently joined Curitiba’s Latinos team.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Only 20% of Blacks and Latinos think it remains achievable, compared with 27% of white Americans.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

The Rainbow Race, Latinos from the blackest of black to the bluest eyes and blondest hair, all splashing their multihued complexion at the edge of Central Park.

From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez