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:
Chicano and Mexican artists who have passed the torch that Asco used to blaze its groundbreaking trail.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
In addition, Valens’ music will be reinterpreted live by Chicano performers from Thee Sinseers, The Altons, Shannon and the Clams and The McCharmlys, among others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
The same agent, who spoke with a Chicano accent, later sped off in a vehicle while asking in Spanglish, “¿Alguien arresto un tonk, güey?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
There are many dedicated figures devoted to Chicano empowerment in America.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Tomorrow evening he and a Chicano kid would sweep the courts and roll them flat.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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
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
He devotes 22 pages to a stoical chicano girl named Marty, whose father and brother were killed by a drunk driver.
From Time Magazine Archive
In his own life, Luis’ answer to that was if America is supposed to be this multicultural beacon of democracy, then let’s have a space for Chicanos to play a role there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
In the storied history of the Los Angeles punk scene, Chicanos were, and remain, permanent fixtures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2025
Liem has more than 680,000 followers on TikTok, where he posts about Chicanos in Vietnam.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
As a filmmaker, seeing these stills of Chicanos reimagining Hollywood, I was so floored and excited.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
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.
