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Tico

American  
[tee-koh, tee-kaw] / ˈti koʊ, ˈti kɔ /

noun

  • Ticos
    plural
  1. a native or inhabitant of Costa Rica.


adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Costa Rica or its inhabitants.

    an exhibition of Tico art.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of Tico

First recorded in 1905–10; from Latin American Spanish tico, said to be from Costa Ricans’ predilection for diminutives formed with the suffix -itico


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:

Palmieri briefly recorded music with the label but also released music under Tico, Alegre, Concord Picante, RMM and Coco Records.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2025

One of the first examples I can remember was the case of Kelly Marie Tran, who was cast as Rose Tico in the 2017 Star Wars movie.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

“Two years ago,” said Marcelino Zamudio, one of two chefs and five owners, including bartender Hector Flora, an alumnus of the late Tico in Washington.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2023

The series also stars Fred Armisen as Tico, Renaldo's supportive uncle who happily works for a valet parking company.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2022

It was at Chalavia that a peon named Tico Viquez came to Blake with the news of a white man lying ill of black-water fever in a native hut.

From Never-Fail Blake by Arthur Stringer

Vying for a seventh World Cup appearance, the Ticos came in needing to gain ground after draws with Nicaragua and Haiti but their aggressive approach went unrewarded.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025

Ticos coach Luis Fernando Suárez didn’t open with six starters from Sunday’s win at El Salvador who carried yellow cards, not wanting to risk a suspension for a playoff.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2022

Although the Ticos are unbeaten in their last six games, they stand little chance of qualifying directly for Qatar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2022

Anthony Contreras scored on a bicycle kick in the 30th minute, Christian Gil tied the score one minute later and Joel Campbell put the Ticos ahead in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.

From Fox News ● Mar. 28, 2022

Even if they haven’t clinched, the Americans might need only to avoid a defeat of a preposterous margin to remain ahead of the Ticos on goal differential.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2022

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