Showing results for "gringo"

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Slang dictionary results for gringo.

gringo

American  

[gring-goh] / ˈgrɪŋ goʊ /

noun

Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.

• gringos
  plural

1. a term used in Latin America or Spain to refer to a foreigner, especially one of U.S. or British descent (often used facetiously).

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gringo British  

/ ˈɡrɪŋɡəʊ /

noun

1. a person from an English-speaking country: used as a derogatory term by Latin Americans

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gringo Cultural  

1. In Latin America, a foreigner, especially a North American or Englishman; usually a term of contempt.

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Sensitive Note

Use of this term implies that the foreigner is an outsider who does not understand or respect Hispanic culture or does not treat Hispanics well. However, gringo is often used consciously for humorous effect, without intent to offend.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gringos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gringo

First recorded in 1840–50; from Spanish: literally, “foreign language, foreigner, especially an English-speaking one who speaks Spanish poorly”; often pejorative; probably alteration of griego “Greek, incomprehensible language”; compare English “It's Greek to me,” first recorded in English in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (1599). The English and Spanish come from the Latin Graecum est; non legitur, “It's Greek; it isn't read” (either because the Greek was incomprehensible or because it was possibly heretical), supposedly dating from medieval monastic scriptoria. The belief that this word is from the song “Green Grow the Lilacs,” popular during the U.S.-Mexican War, is without substance. Cf. Greek

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gringo gringos

When Maduro learned that a gringo was engaging with his energy minister, he called Sargeant into the Miraflores presidential palace.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

“I want to remind the gringo: I didn’t cross the border, the border crossed me,” the lyrics rang out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2025

A stuntman, Roy N. Sickner, imagined a story about gringo outlaws robbing a train in the United States and escaping to Mexico, its climax a massive shootout.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 13, 2019

The occupying marines’ green uniform reputedly prompted cries of “green go”, and the term gringo.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 1, 2017

A big gringo shouted in English to Señor Fidencio, and at once the sound of the horn ceased.

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty

It is not a tax haven for gringos, nor is it a “floating island of garbage”; it’s a gem that needs to be nurtured for generations to come.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026

As much of Europe and Asia shut their doors to Americans in 2020, Mexico, which adopted few COVID-19 restrictions, was one of the few places where gringos were welcome.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2022

Whenever my family in Chile wants to show gringos how prosperous Chile is, how close to “first-world” status, there is one thing they always point to: its malls.

From Slate ● Dec. 7, 2021

In Mexico, the inside joke is to tell gringos that the “mole” sauce on their chicken is made from chocolate and not the real ingredient, blended Mexican mole lizards.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 16, 2018

What I needed to learn in school was that I had the right—and the obligation—to speak the public language of los gringos.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez