Latino

American  

[luh-tee-noh, la-] / ləˈti noʊ, læ- /

Or latino

adjective

1. of or relating to people of Latin American origin or descent, especially those living in the United States: Latino audiences;

   Latino business owners;

   Latino audiences;

   the Latino community;

   Latino immigrants.

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noun

Latinos plural

1. a person of Latin American origin or descent, especially one living in the United States.

   a growing population of Latinos in the Midwest.

Latino British  

/ læˈtiːnəʊ /

noun

1. an inhabitant of the US who is of Latin American origin

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Latina
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• Latinos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Latino

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50; from Spanish (United States), perhaps by ellipsis from Spanish latinoamericano “Latin American,” equivalent to latino “Latin” (referring to the places or people with Latinate or Romance language in common) + americano “American”

Example Sentences

If elected, he would be California's first Latino governor since 1875, in a state where Latinos make up about 41% of the population.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

“You can have Latino representation, but whether or not that will actually lead to tangible outcomes for Latino communities, that’s what people want to know.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026

Election after election, Texas Democrats won the Latino vote by wide margins.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026

Former President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton each won Latino voters by nearly 30 points in 2008 and 2016, respectively, according to exit polls.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026

I’d walked onto the court and seen the team like this: seven black guys, five white guys, two Latino guys, and one Vietnamese guy.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds