paisa

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Meaning · English

A person hailing from the same country; in particular, a fellow Latino.

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

... prison, talked about his relationship with drug traffickers in Mexico some twenty-five years before. His street gang had a relationship with a paisa wholesaler. An understanding of respect existed between Rubén's gang and its paisa supplier[…] Wrangler, a White man who associated with the Aryan

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

A Latino who is not a gangster nor gang-affiliated.

Register: slang

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “paisa” mean?

A person hailing from the same country; in particular, a fellow Latino.

Is “paisa” formal or informal?

paisa is generally slang.