Hispanic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to Spanish-speaking Latin America.
the United States and its Hispanic neighbors.
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Also Hispano of or relating to people of Spanish-speaking descent: the Hispanic vote;
Hispanic students;
the Hispanic vote;
Hispanic communities.
noun
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Also called Hispano-American. Also called Hispanic American. a citizen or resident of the United States who is of Spanish or Spanish-speaking Latin American descent.
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a person whose primary or native language is Spanish.
adjective
noun
Usage
Some words that describe national or ethnic identities are acceptable as plural nouns, but are more controversial as singular nouns. This is the case for Hispanic. It’s often acceptable as a plural noun (a candidate favored by Hispanics ). However, it may sometimes be less so as a singular noun (the candidate who is a Hispanic ). Such words are always perfectly appropriate as adjectives (strategies to get Hispanic voters to the polls).
his is the word most generally used in the US to refer to people of Latin American or Spanish ancestry
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Hispanic
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin hispānicus, “Spanish”; see Hispania, -ic
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:
“The way politics is going right now, the Hispanic community needs this,” added fellow Orange resident Jonny Munguia, 30.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
As it applies to Hispanic consumers, it was much of the same but more exacerbated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Constellation Brands, especially, faces softer demand from Hispanic consumers, who make up roughly half of its beer customer base, as affordability pressures and concerns around immigration enforcement weighed on sentiment.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Black women were paid 68.3% and Hispanic women were paid 64.5% as much as white men, on average.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Come with me,” David said as a Hispanic woman led Kaira away.
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
Becerra’s support grew among key constituent groups, and he now carries 44% of Democrats, 36% of Hispanics and 36% of women.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
Senate with a strong performance in counties that boast the highest share of Hispanics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
The same poll showed that 31% of Black people and 37% of Hispanics view legal sports betting as bad for society, compared to 46% of white people.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2026
That figure is around 30% for Hispanics, who are 37% of the US Catholic population.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2025
Soon Hispanic-American activists began to complain that there were too few Hispanics in colleges.
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.
