bracero

noun

bra·​ce·​ro brä-ˈser-(ˌ)ō 

-ˈse-(ˌ)rō

plural braceros

: a Mexican laborer admitted to the U.S. especially for seasonal contract labor in agriculture

Examples of bracero in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The year before, Johnson had—with much less fanfare—allowed for the expiration of the bracero program, a formal agreement between the U.S. and Mexico that allowed Mexican laborers, known as braceros, to enter the U.S. legally, on a temporary basis, to work in American agriculture. —Alexander Nazaryan, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026

Limón’s grandfather picked strawberries in Oxnard after coming to the U.S. through the state’s bracero program. —Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026

The Spanish word bracero roughly translates to someone who works with their arms, but the earlier guest worker program didn’t have the same inclusive meaning Chandler intends. —Doug Sackman, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2025

But, in reality, braceros often spent as much as 14 hours a day stooping to pick crops and lived in abysmal conditions. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 30 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, laborer, from brazo arm, from Latin bracchium

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bracero

• bolero
• estero
• herero
• montero
• potrero
• primero
• prospero
• romero
• sombrero
• vaquero
• wheelbarrow
• aero