narco

1 of 2

noun

nar·​co ˈnär-(ˌ)kō 

plural narcos

1

US slang : one who traffics or deals drugs illegally

One of the ways for big narcos to launder drug money was to acquire land.

—Maureen Orth

… the US government has for the past fifteen years been waging all-out war on the Colombian narcos, with little to show for it.

—Michael Massing

also : narcotic drugs

—usually used before another noun

narco traffic/traffickers

narco smuggling

see also narco- sense 2

2

US slang : a person investigating narcotics violations : narc

Students also have agitated against university acquiescence in the presence on the campus of "narcos"—police agents seeking to make arrests for violations of narcotics laws …

—Earl C. Gottschalk, Jr.

narco-

2 of 2

combining form

1

: deep sleep

narcolepsy

2

[narcotic] : associated with, relating to, or engaged in the sale of illegal narcotics

narco-terrorism

narco-corruption

narco-criminals

narco-dollars [=dollars gained through the sale of illegal narcotics]

Examples of narco in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

No serious legal expert would doubt that the president has authority to blow narco terrorists out of the water, who are poisoning a hundred thousand Americans every year. —ABC News, 7 Dec. 2025

Officials defended these escalations as essential for dismantling narco-trafficking networks and curbing the entry of dangerous drugs into the country. —Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025

But the Goliaths have caught up, while – according to one report – drug cartels the world over are innovating, improving and adapting drones to fight the narco-wars of the future. —Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 27 Nov. 2025

Continue reading … RISING TENSIONS – Rubio moves against Maduro's 'narco-terrorists' with powerful new terror designation. —FOXNews.com, 17 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

(sense 1) borrowed from American Spanish, probably short for narcotraficante "drug trafficker," from narco- narco- + traficante "dealer, trafficker"; (sense 2) from narc- (as in narcotics agent, narcotics officer) + -o entry 1

Combining form

combining form from Greek nárkē "numbness, lack of sensation"; (sense 2) in part after American Spanish narco- (as in narcodependencia "drug dependency," narcotráfico "drug trafficking") — more at narcosis

First Known Use

Noun

1954, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing narco

• narco-terrorism

Rhymes for narco

• arco