pinto
Americanadjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pinto
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; from Spanish, from Vulgar Latin pinctus (unattested) “painted”; see pinta
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:
As a child in Northern California, he grew up eating tostadas with refried pinto beans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
Melanie McFarland keeps leftover rice from Chinese or Indian takeout and uses it to make gallo pinto, a Costa Rican dish of spiced rice and beans that’s deeply comforting and endlessly customizable.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2025
Steven Ness, who grows pinto beans and pumpkins in central New Mexico, said the rising cost of irrigation as groundwater dwindles is an issue across the board for farmers in the region.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 29, 2023
Richard monitored the pinto beans with a timer he assiduously reset every time it went off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2023
“The first little boy says, ‘There’s pinto beans.’
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
When he discovered black beans, he found them downright exotic—inky, fudgy, definitely not the same old pintos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
Black beans bring a deeper, earthier tone; pintos are soft and nutty, more traditional.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2025
Hard to imagine in their tiny shells today, pintos can grow to the size of an adult’s hand.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2021
Any white bean you’d like, or even pintos or chickpeas.
From Washington Post ● May 10, 2020
At another open window on the same side of the house, the one next to the sink where Hagar washed her hair and where Reba put pintos to soak, a woman’s face appeared.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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.
