Hispanic
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to Spanish-speaking Latin America.
the United States and its Hispanic neighbors.
-
Also Hispano of or relating to people of Spanish-speaking descent: the Hispanic vote;
Hispanic students;
the Hispanic vote;
Hispanic communities.
noun
-
Hispanics
plural
-
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:
She’s co-chair of the California Hispanic Caucus, which represents the state’s GOP Latino legislators and was founded after a record number of them — nine — were elected in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Physical activity was particularly associated with slower cognitive decline among Hispanic participants, while lower fasting blood glucose levels were linked to slower cognitive decline among non-Hispanic white participants.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Mexican Americans, who make up the largest Hispanic population in the United States, also have particularly high rates of diabetes, obesity and dyslipidemia, conditions that can increase dementia risk.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Statistics for the new Bronx K-12 aren’t collected, but Success Academy projects about 91% of students will be black, Hispanic or multiracial, and 90% will qualify for free or discounted lunch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans, and Americans of mixed ethnicity will become the majority in the near future.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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
Hispanics and Latinos have moved away from him.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2026
That figure is around 30% for Hispanics, who are 37% of the US Catholic population.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2025
Marriage rates vary by demographic group: 46% of 40-year-old black Americans hadn’t married, compared with 27% of Hispanics and 20% of whites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
Now, not counting Hispanics and Latinos who identified as white, Springfield was 37 percent white.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
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.
