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

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

Known for his witty commentary on cholo culture, Luna grew up in East L.A. and Fontana and performed at local clubs such as Hollywood’s Improv and Pasadena’s Ice House.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2020

She sees her neighbourhood’s cholo culture fading away.

From The Guardian • Sep. 22, 2016

Wasn’t nary one of ’em that suited her, and just when the chickens ’r the cholo gals needed her, here was a Briggs City galoot a-crossin’ the yard.

From Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher by Gates, Eleanor