mestizo

American  

[me-stee-zoh, mi-] / mɛˈsti zoʊ, mɪ- /

noun

• mestizos,
  plural
• mestizoes
  plural

1. a person of mixed racial or ethnic ancestry, especially, in Latin America, of mixed Indigenous and European descent or, in the Philippines, of mixed Indigenous and foreign descent.

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mestizo British  

/ mɛˈstiːzə, mɛˈstiːzəʊ, mɪ- /

noun

1. a person of mixed parentage, esp the offspring of a Spanish American and an American Indian

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mestiza
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mestizoes
  plural
• mestizos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mestizo

First recorded in 1580–90; from Spanish, noun use of adjective mestizo, from Vulgar Latin mixtīcius (unrecorded) “mixed”

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Compare meaning

How does mestizo compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• mestizo vs. mulatto

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Explanation

In Latin America, someone with both indigenous and European ancestry is described as mestizo. In Mexico, the majority of people are mestizos. Mestizo, a Spanish word that's rooted in the Latin mixtus, or "mixed," originally meant "person of mixed Spanish and Amerindian parentage." Though some groups of Latin Americans still employ this word to describe their own combined heritage, it's becoming less common for people with mixed ancestry to use the term. Approximately one third of people identifying as Hispanic in the U.S. also describe themselves as mestizo.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mestizo mestizoes mestizos

One night Toño is electrified by the playing of a self-taught mestizo guitarist named Lalo Molfino.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

He was the son of a Spanish captain and a palla — a member of Incan royalty — making him mestizo.

From New York Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

In 1816, Miguel Hidalgo proclaimed Mexico’s independence from Spain with the Grito de Dolores and led a largely Indigenous and mestizo army to overthrow the colony’s government.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

The creole elite—major landowners, military officers, and church officials—decided to declare independence from Spain and forged a very pragmatic partnership with the mestizo and Indigenous followers of Vicente Guerrero.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

And I’m out of place in my mestizo pants and T-shirt, when all the other women wear anacos and blouses.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

The population of the whole group is above three millions, including all tribes of natives, mestizoes, and whites.

From Little Masterpieces of Science: Explorers by George Iles

In all of the frontier settlements there was a large element of mulattoes and mestizoes.

From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Herbert Eugene Bolton

Peru, almost depopulated, counted only a small number of Spaniards and mestizoes.

From The Pearl of Lima A Story of True Love by Anne T. Wilbur

The mestizoes were supposed to be about fifteen or twenty thousand; they are distinguished as Spanish and Indian mestizoes.

From Little Masterpieces of Science: Explorers by George Iles

After passing through some low scrubby forest, very thick with tangled second growth, the clearings of the mestizoes were reached, about five miles below Santo Domingo.

From The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt

In Mexico, some believe that they and their countrymen are all one race, mestizos with Spanish and Indigenous roots.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2022

These then escalated into a social struggle among the enslaved Africans, Indigenous groups, mestizos, pardos, and White people.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

The Hoja Blanca station is also responsible for six other communities, made up of mestizos, Indigenous Chachis, and Afro-Ecuadorians — about 3,000 people in total.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2022

The Hoja Blanca station is also responsible for six other communities, made up of mestizos, Indigenous Chachis, and Afro-Ecuadorians—about 3,000 people in total.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 10, 2022

Outside the church, I’m adrift in a sea of anacos and gold beads and blue ponchos; only a few other people are dressed like mestizos.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

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