Negro

¹ American  

[nee-groh] / ˈni groʊ /

noun

plural

Negroes

1. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) a member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Negro race, especially those who originate in sub-Saharan Africa.

2. Older Use: Often Offensive. a Black person.

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adjective

1. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) of, relating to, or characteristic of one of the traditional racial divisions of humankind, generally marked by brown to black skin pigmentation, dark eyes, and tightly curled hair and including especially the Indigenous peoples of Africa south of the Sahara.

2. Older Use. of or relating to Black people, often African Americans: the Negro leagues in baseball.

   a Negro spiritual;

   the Negro leagues in baseball.

Negro ² American  

[ney-groh, ne-graw, ne-groo] / ˈneɪ groʊ, ˈnɛ grɔ, ˈnɛ grʊ /

noun

1. a river in NW South America, flowing SE from E Colombia through N Brazil into the Amazon. 1,400 miles (2,255 km) long.

2. a river in S Argentina, flowing E from the Andes to the Atlantic. 700 miles (1,125 km) long.

3. a river in SE South America, flowing S from Brazil and W through Uruguay, to the Uruguay River. About 500 miles (800 km) long.

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Negro ¹ British  

/ ˈnɛɡ-, ˈneɪɡrəʊ /

noun

1. a river in NW South America, rising in E Colombia (as the Guainía) and flowing east, then south as part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela, entering Brazil and continuing southeast to join the Amazon at Manáus. Length: about 2250 km (1400 miles)

2. a river in S central Argentina, formed by the confluence of the Neuquén and Limay Rivers and flowing east and southeast to the Atlantic. Length: about 1014 km (630 miles)

3. a river in central Uruguay, rising in S Brazil and flowing southwest into the Uruguay River. Length: about 467 km (290 miles)

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Negro ² British  

/ ˈniːɡrəʊ /

noun

1. a member of any of the dark-skinned indigenous peoples of Africa and their descendants elsewhere

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adjective

1. relating to or characteristic of Negroes

Sensitive Note

See Black ¹.

Other Word Forms

• Negroism noun

Etymology

Origin of Negro

First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish and Portuguese negro “black,” from Latin nigrum, masculine accusative of niger “black”

Example Sentences

“It is not so much a Negro History Week as it is a History Week,” he wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

A lawsuit that named decorated St. John Bosco High School football coach Jason Negro as a defendant was ruled by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge Thursday to have little legal basis.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

St. John Bosco says Brian Wickstrom was fired as president because he obtained loans without authorization and it’s backing coach Jason Negro after a lawsuit alleges that he embezzled money.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

So was born “My Negro Problem—and Ours,” itself an important contribution to writings on race in America.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

He was really good and played in the Negro American League...or maybe it was the Negro Southern League?

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone