santo
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of santo
First recorded in 1630–40, for an earlier sense; from Spanish: literally, saint; from Latin sānctus
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:
It’s essentially something between olive oil and olio santo, except it’s a little sweeter and less spicy.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
To make my own, I alchemized a potpourri of sandalwood, hinoki wood, palo santo, mint, patchouli and tachibana orange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
I think that’s the first place I ever smelled palo santo being burned, and I was like, “I’m going to buy that!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2025
This pretty kit contains mountain sage, frankincense, myrrh and white copal resin; a Selenite stick; crystals and a palo santo stick for smudging.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
In the mortuary, her friends from the casa de santo dressed Felicia in her initiation gown, her crown, and her necklaces.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
A National Historic Landmark, El Santuario de Chimayó is decorated with original examples of 19th century Hispanic religious folk art, including santos and religious frescoes.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
Testimonios “The All-Powerful Hand of Christ”, a painted wood santos by Norberto Cedeño, is in this exhibition of “popular expression” at El Museo del Barrio.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2012
A wall relief featuring haloed saints painted on individual lengths of two-by-fours attached to a board of dappled color seems obliquely related to the santos tradition.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2012
What makes the cult of the santos malandros stand out, however, is its moral ambiguity.
From Time Magazine Archive
People were treating those pudgy, diminutive Floresta santos the way one might treat a voodoo doll.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
