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

His eldest son, Eddie Escobedo Jr., has since taken over a chain of hibachi restaurants that his father opened after serving time in prison and vowing to quit the narco life. —Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024

This corruption had global effects with Hezbollah establishing a presence in Venezuela and entering the gold, oil, narco and other markets that benefit the Maduro heirarchy. —Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024

Selena Gomez is a welcome surprise, shedding any remaining hints of her Disney Channel origins in her portrayal of a hard-loving wife of a narco. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 2 Sep. 2024

My whole town, 20 to 30 years ago, narco trafficking was a big problem. —Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 10 May 2024

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