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

Nouns

• 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

See Examples For:

Latino Latinos

Some fans viewed the collaboration cynically, criticizing it as a way for Beyoncé to capitalize on Selena’s legacy, or to court more Latino fans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

In response, some schools have cut back on programs aimed at helping minority students, even relatively benign initiatives like special orientation events, and Black and Latino enrollment at top universities has fallen.

From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026

Kroenke is buying the Angels from Arte Moreno, Major League Baseball’s first Latino owner who has overseen the club’s current streak of 11 consecutive losing seasons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

In the latest episode of “The De Los Podcast,” author and professor Vanessa Díaz discusses her book about Bad Bunny and why he’s served as a good launching point to talk about Latino identity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The crowd outside Mother’s was white, black, Latino, Asian, just like Springfield.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

The Silver Platter has operated since 1963, becoming one of Los Angeles’ oldest and most enduring gathering places for queer and transgender Latinos in Westlake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Black people, Latinos, and Asian Americans have much less representation in the Senate than they do in the House.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026

“We had no choice to leave Cuba, we couldn’t take it anymore,” said Jorge Ruiz, a professional baseball player from Havana who emigrated eight months ago and recently joined Curitiba’s Latinos team.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Only 20% of Blacks and Latinos think it remains achievable, compared with 27% of white Americans.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

I wasn’t sure if Blanca meant Latinos or her church.

From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez