narco
1 of 2noun
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
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
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.
Earl C. Gottschalk Jr.narco-
2 of 2combining 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]
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, 21 Aug. 2022 Toward the end of the millennium, a southside narco named George Herbert became the undisputed king of Belize’s underworld, hooking up cartels with corrupt politicians to ship coke north. Sean Williams, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2022 Leave the narco-trafficking routes alone and no harm would come their way. New York Times, 4 May 2022 Colombia’s 2016 surrender to the narco-trafficking guerrilla group FARC was negotiated in Havana, under the guidance of the Obama administration. Mary Anastasia O’grady, WSJ, 20 Mar. 2022 The three must overcome the armies of little monsters, narco-traffickers who themselves are stuck in the village, and several locals. Jamie Lang, Variety, 5 Nov. 2021 That recommendation follows years of economic and logistical support from Washington to put an end to the country's conflicts -- from narco-trafficking to guerrilla warfare. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, 6 Feb. 2022 Which narco-traffickers were battling one other municipio by municipio? Peter Canby, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2022 Cash-rich traffickers are even testing new technologies like drones and building ocean-crossing narco-submarines. David Luhnow, WSJ, 21 Jan. 2022 See More
Noun
To this day, the Colombian state faces challenges over control of its territory by a variety of criminal actors, from former left-wing guerrillas and paramilitaries to narco-cartels and organized crime syndicates. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, 21 Aug. 2022 Toward the end of the millennium, a southside narco named George Herbert became the undisputed king of Belize’s underworld, hooking up cartels with corrupt politicians to ship coke north. Sean Williams, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2022 Leave the narco-trafficking routes alone and no harm would come their way. New York Times, 4 May 2022 Colombia’s 2016 surrender to the narco-trafficking guerrilla group FARC was negotiated in Havana, under the guidance of the Obama administration. Mary Anastasia O’grady, WSJ, 20 Mar. 2022 The three must overcome the armies of little monsters, narco-traffickers who themselves are stuck in the village, and several locals. Jamie Lang, Variety, 5 Nov. 2021 That recommendation follows years of economic and logistical support from Washington to put an end to the country's conflicts -- from narco-trafficking to guerrilla warfare. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, 6 Feb. 2022 Which narco-traffickers were battling one other municipio by municipio? Peter Canby, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2022 Cash-rich traffickers are even testing new technologies like drones and building ocean-crossing narco-submarines. David Luhnow, WSJ, 21 Jan. 2022 See More 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