burro
Americannoun
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burros
plural
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a small donkey, especially one used as a pack animal in the southwestern U.S.
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any donkey.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of burro
1790–1800; < Spanish < Portuguese, back formation from burrico ass < Vulgar Latin *burriccus for Late Latin burrīcus pony
Compare meaning
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Explanation
A burro is a small donkey often used in the American Southwest and Mexico as a pack animal. Wild burros are the descendants of domesticated donkeys that escaped or were released and subsequently established wild herds. Burro comes from the Spanish burrico, "donkey," and the Late Latin burricus, "small, shaggy horse." Burros have inhabited the American Southwest for hundreds of years, first working in mines as pack animals during the gold rush and later roaming free in herds throughout the Arizona desert. They can also be found in arid regions of California, Nevada, Utah, and Mexico. Burros are known for their intelligence, hardiness, and affectionate natures. They make a loud braying noise.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The image of the burro as a miner’s faithful beast of burden contrasts starkly with ecological reality, experts say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2023
“We lack the funding needed to deal with the exploding burro population,” Donnell said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2023
The time is ripe, they say, to severely reduce the burro population with a roundup that is certain to be controversial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2023
Meléndez’s illustrations of a seven-pointed star and a burro piñata are among a select group of 31 stamp issues this year.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
The burro chewed the dry tufts of grass as close to the gray shale as it could and strained against the reins to reach another sparse clump of grass.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
Despite the extensive commentary swirling around the burros, surprisingly little is known about the herd itself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Based on his observations thus far, Spasojevic believes the burros could play an important role in the local ecosystem by grazing on non-native grasses and preventing them from overtaking native plants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
And more than 70,000 wild horses and burros now compete with livestock for forage.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
“A lot of people that we know bought houses specifically in this area because the burros were here.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2025
The kids sounded like a herd of wild burros.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
