politico

¹

[puh-lit-i-koh]

noun

plural

politicos 

1. a politician.

politico-

²

1. a combining form representing political in compound words.

   politico-religious.

politico-

¹

combining form

1. denoting political or politics

   politicoeconomic

politico

²

/ pəˈlɪtɪˌkəʊ /

noun

1. an informal word for a politician politician

Word History and Origins

Origin of politico¹

1620–30; < Italian or Spanish

Word History and Origins

Origin of politico¹

C17: from Italian or Spanish

Example Sentences

One politico who lives in the district noted that two McOskers separately knocked on his door and a third called him as part of a phone banking operation.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The belief, which you’ll hear from Washington-based politicos of a younger sort, presumes that progressives’ unconcern about their side’s moral and ethical perversities has enabled the left’s cultural and political advancements.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Instead, the list was mostly royals, tech and finance executives, and politicos from both sides of the Atlantic.

Read more on BBC

But politicos can make a hell of any paradise.

Read more on Salon

In the face of constant negative prognostications and outright attacks by pundits and politicos of all stripes, how is it that California, like Sisyphus, keeps pushing such a giant boulder up an ever-growing mountain?

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When To Use

What does politico mean?

Politico is an informal word for a politician—a person who holds or is seeking political office as an elected government official.Like the word politician, politico is most commonly used in the context of politicians campaigning, giving speeches, and promoting themselves, as opposed to the activities that they do as part of being a government official—voting, debating issues, and working to find solutions to problems (in which case a politician might be called a representative or officeholder—or a legislator or lawmaker, if they work in a lawmaking capacity).Politico is especially used to refer to a long-term politician who’s experienced in making political deals or exchanging political favors.For that reason, it’s often used in a negative way, such as to refer to politicians who are considered members of the establishment.The informal term pol can be used to mean the same thing.Example: We should be focusing on real issues instead of listening to endless rhetoric from politicos and pundits.