country music

American

noun

a style and genre of largely string-accompanied American popular music having roots in the folk music of the Southeast and cowboy music of the West, usually vocalized, generally simple in form and harmony, and typified by romantic or melancholy ballads accompanied by acoustic or electric guitar, banjo, violin, and harmonica.

country music British

noun

Sometimes shortened to: country. a type of 20th-century popular music based on White folk music of the southeastern US

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of country music

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Not far from the country music playground of downtown Nashville, Armstrong loads his pick-up truck with footballs and sets off for the melting-pot neighbourhood of Antioch.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

And traveling country music fans need to put this on the calendar: Nashville was awarded the 2030 Super Bowl.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

The sale of Stokes’ property comes months after another very significant milestone in his life: the end of his on-again, off-again relationship with country music star Kelsea Ballerini.

From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026

Ringo's 22nd album, Long Long Road, came out last month and reached number two in the UK's country music charts.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

He turned the radio to 96.7, country music.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023