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:
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
There are many dedicated figures devoted to Chicano empowerment in America.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 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
‘After all, not many schools are going to pass up the chance to get a Chicano with a Ph.D. in Renaissance literature.’
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
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
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
Paying 250 to chicano children," says he, "is an insult to the chicano community.
From Time Magazine Archive
But, even with some 19% of chicano families below the poverty line, Martinez concedes that a middle class is "clearly emerging."
From Time Magazine Archive
Culture Clash stood out in a time when Chicanos became more vocal and visible — and its members challenged an entertainment industry that has historically lacked Latino representation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Valdez awakened a movement, bringing Chicanos from the California fields he grew up working in to stages and screens all over the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
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
“They account for 25% of the national box office by themselves. And we are the most underrepresented population in Hollywood by far. When you consider Mexican Americans and Chicanos, we’re even worse off.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2024
Most of his partners, his immediate superiors and inferiors down in the capital, were Chicanos, and this had never bothered him.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
