Chicano
adjective
of or relating to Mexican Americans or their culture.
Chicano
American
[chi-kah-noh, -kan-oh]
/ tʃɪˈkɑ noʊ, -ˈkæn oʊ /
Or
chicano
adjective
noun
-
Chicanos
plural
chicano
British
/ tʃɪˈkɑːnəʊ /
noun
Usage
What does Chicano mean? A Chicano is a person who is Mexican American. In other words, it’s someone of Mexican descent who was born in or now lives in the United States, as in Although Jorge loves living in the United States, he remains a proud Chicano, frequently visiting his Mexican hometown. Chicano is also used as an adjective to describe Mexican American people or things involving them or their culture, as in Rosa loved Chicano food so much that she became a chef and opened a popular Chicano restaurant. Chicano comes from Mexican Spanish, a language that uses gendered nouns. Chicano is the masculine form, while Chicana is the feminine form. Chican@ and Chicanx are sometimes used as gender-neutral forms. As with any term that refers to a person’s identity, it is best to ask the person what term they prefer to identify themselves with. Even if a person fits the dictionary definition of Chicano, they might prefer to be identified by another term, such as Mexican American, American, Mexican, Hispanic, or Latino. Example: The ad campaign was targeted at the city’s large Chicano population, who were proud of their Mexican heritage.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Chicano
First recorded in 1960–65; from Mexican Spanish, by shortening and alteration of mexicano Mexican ( def. )
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:
“It’s about time that Los Angeles — a city that is nearly 50% Latino of which 70% are of Mexican descent — has a museum that honors and uplifts Chicano and Mexican Art.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Martinez has an impressive roster of his own, having interviewed many stars in the Mexican and Chicano music scenes, from Fuerza Regida to Natalia Lafourcade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
But he does sugarcoat his technological limitations as a 67-year-old comic in the dreaded age of video calls with a punchy Chicano twist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
“It’s the most Chicano art piece I’ve been exposed to in my life,” Bolaños joked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
I was invited to Chicano student meetings and social events sponsored by La Raza.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Anti-gentrification activists in the United States and Europe have studied Boyle Heights, a cradle of the chicano movement, as a potential model.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 18, 2017
Paying 250 to chicano children," says he, "is an insult to the chicano community.
From Time Magazine Archive
At one chicano fund-raising cocktail party, guests anted up $20,000 for Jerry Brown's re-election campaign.
From Time Magazine Archive
Rousselot, a Congressman for 14 years and member of the John Birch Society for 21 years until 1979, was artfully gerrymandered into a heavily chicano district near Los Angeles already represented by Democrat Mathew Martinez.
From Time Magazine Archive
A chicano, Mario Obledo, 46, is Brown's secretary of health and welfare, the highest ranking Mexican-American official in the state government.
From Time Magazine Archive
“An ethnic group unable to define its past is unable to take pride in its accomplishments,” Acuña wrote in his 1996 book, “Anything But Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
One of the core themes within the documentary is how we as Chicanos view the American Dream: Can we achieve it by being ourselves, or do we have to assimilate?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
The Viet Chicanos are wary of attracting the wrong type of followers as well, who may be in pursuit of a different kind of lifestyle.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
Chicanos have largely dropped Aztlán as an aspirational legend, as the Latino population in the U.S. has diversified.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024
Many Mexican- Americans were consequently shocked when they heard the student activist proclaim himself and his listeners Chicanos.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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.
