barrio

noun

bar·​rio ˈbär-ē-ˌō 

ˈber-, 

ˈba-rē- 

plural barrios

1

: a ward, quarter, or district of a city or town in a Spanish-speaking country

2

: a Spanish-speaking quarter or neighborhood in a city or town in the U.S. especially in the Southwest

Examples of barrio in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Produced by Mazzarri, the track beat is built on raptor house, a high-energy, underground electronic genre created by Dj Babatr in the barrios of Caracas at the turn of the millenia. —Leonor C. Suárez, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026

Maduro’s removal could weaken Chavismo but not erase its networks in the military, bureaucracy and low-income barrios. —Robert Muggah, Fortune, 5 Jan. 2026

Maduro’s removal could weaken Chavismo but not erase its networks in the military, bureaucracy and low-income barrios. —Robert Muggah, The Conversation, 4 Jan. 2026

What really drove the initial engagement was the doubt that the show was real; people didn’t believe that there was a progressive theater company like ours ready to tell the story of Anita Franco and her journey from the barrios of Frankfurt. —David Zucker, Deadline, 10 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from Arabic barrī of the open country, from barr outside, open country

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for barrio

• lothario

Kids Definition

barrio

noun

bar·​rio ˈbär-ē-ˌō  ˈbar- 

plural barrios

: a neighborhood where most of the people speak Spanish