Caló
Americannoun
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a variety of Spanish influenced by Mexican underworld argot with a large admixture of English words, spoken especially by Mexican Americans in cities of the southwestern United States.
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a language spoken by the Spanish and Portuguese Roma.
Etymology
Origin of Caló
First recorded in 1840–45 Caló for def. 2, and in 1945–50 Caló for def. 1; from Spanish, from Romani
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.
She loved Caló des Moro, a beach nestled between steep cliffs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
“The price for free speech should not be this high,” said Arturo Carmona, president and publisher of Caló News, a news site that covers issues that matter to English-speaking Latinos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025
Caló News, which focuses on Latino issues, will launch its own initiative to cover southeast L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2024
Last month, I attended a forum at City Club LA hosted by the nonprofit Latino Media Collaborative, which sponsors Caló News, about what it deemed a “crisis” in Southern California journalism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2024
Is it in Caló that you are speaking before me, and I a chalan and national?
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 5 by Hamilton Wright Mabie
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.
