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

In 2012, the former governor, Mario Villanueva, pleaded guilty in a US federal court to laundering millions of dollars in narco-bribes. —Mary Beth Sheridan, CNN Money, 24 Feb. 2026

The narco-blockades that have upended life in parts of Mexico since Sunday also reflect the CJNG’s fearsome power as a paramilitary organization. —Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026

Oseguera Cervantes was the leader of one of the largest narco-terrorist cartels in the country. —Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 23 Feb. 2026

The violent reaction of the Jalisco Cartel — New Generation was not long in coming after the death of its leader, unleashing a wave of blockades and narco-blockades that paralyzed different points of the state. —Claudia Núñez, AZCentral.com, 22 Feb. 2026

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