cholo

American  

[choh-loh] / ˈtʃoʊ loʊ /

noun

Chiefly Southwestern U.S.

cholos plural

1. (especially among Mexican Americans) a teenage boy who is a member of a street gang.

2. Usually Disparaging. a term used to refer to a Mexican or Mexican American.

3. a mestizo of Spanish America.

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Sensitive Note

When used of a Mexican or Mexican American, the term cholo usually refers disparagingly to an immigrant who is considered to be low-class and poorly educated. However, cholo is also a term of self-reference used by Mexican American youths.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cholos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cholo

First recorded in 1850–55; from Mexican Spanish: “mestizo, peasant,” possibly a shortening of Cholollán (from Nahuatl Cholōllān, modern Cholula ), a city-state in pre-Columbian Mexico

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cholo cholos

Over a century, L.A.’s arroyos have drawn graffitists and their chroniclers — hobo, cholo and otherwise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2023

My dad is an old-school cholo who was always out front working on his lowrider car.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2022

For “Made in L.A.,” for example, Ayala focused on the underground magazine, “Teen Angels,” which documented cholo street culture in the late 20th century, featuring artworks, photographs and essays by gang-affiliated or incarcerated Chicanos.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2022

She sees her neighbourhood’s cholo culture fading away.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 22, 2016

From a locker the Colonel produced a repeating rifle and three boxes of cartridges, which he handed to the cholo, who departed without further ado into the night.

From The Valley of the Giants by Kyne, Peter B. (Peter Bernard)

Angels descended on young cholos under the orange glow of a Los Angeles streetlight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2024

“There were cholos and rockers with crazy hairspray looks. We were all just starting. Everything was new and fresh.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2024

Calo is a language that cholos use here that’s derivative of Spanish, English and sometimes even Nahuatl used by some nations in Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2022

Caló is a language that cholos use here that’s derivative of Spanish, English and sometimes even Nahuatl used by some nations in Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2022

Now my best friend and I are the oldest cholos in the barrio.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers