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

Huerta has repeatedly evaded capture over the years, according to Mexican news reports, and has been the subject of numerous narco banners hung throughout the region. —Alexandra Mendoza, Mercury News, 18 June 2025

The 24-year-old performed at an annual fair in Aguascalientes state this month just days after the local authorities warned musicians not to play narco songs. —Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2025

In a story that appeared to have been ripped from a narco thriller, Joaquín Guzmán López abducted Mr. Zambada García in Culiacán last summer and flew him over the border into the custody of U.S. federal agents. —Alan Feuer, New York Times, 7 May 2025

Ecuador's rampant violence with the rise of criminal narco gangs is at the forefront of voter's minds. —Carrie Kahn, NPR, 12 Apr. 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