colonia

[ kuh-loh-nee-uh, -lohn-yuh; Spanish kaw-law-nyah ]

noun,plural co·lo·ni·as [kuh-loh-nee-uhz, -lohn-yuhz; Spanish kaw-law-nyahs]. /kəˈloʊ ni əz, -ˈloʊn yəz; Spanish kɔˈlɔ nyɑs/.
  1. (in the southwestern U.S.) a city neighborhood or a rural settlement inhabited predominantly by Mexicans or Mexican Americans.

Origin of colonia

1
<Mexican Spanish: newly built or settled district of a city; Spanish: plantation, colony

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use colonia in a sentence

  • The highest municipal authority in the colonias or agricultural settlements on government lands in Argentina.

  • The Embassy is some distance out, in one of the new "Colonias."

    Diplomatic Days | Edith O'Shaughnessy
  • The system of cane colonias was started all over with marked success.

    Industrial Cuba | Robert P. Porter
  • This is a model colonia; but all Cuban colonias are not models.

    Industrial Cuba | Robert P. Porter
  • Some factories depend more largely upon the colonias, or small farms which supply the cane.

    Industrial Cuba | Robert P. Porter