samba
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a lively modern ballroom dance from Brazil in bouncy duple time
-
a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance
verb
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have sambaedperfect
-
has sambaedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been sambaingperfect progressive
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am sambaingprogressive 1st person singular
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are sambaingprogressive
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is sambaingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been sambaingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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sambassingular 3rd person
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sambaingparticiple
Past
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had sambaedperfect
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was sambaingprogressive singular
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had been sambaingperfect progressive
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were sambaingprogressive plural
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sambaedsimple
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sambaedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of samba
First recorded in 1885; from Portuguese, of African origin, possibly Kongo semba, the name of a dance
Vocabulary lists containing samba
South America - Middle School
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South America - Introductory
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South America - High School
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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.
The performances are judged over 10 categories by a total of 40 judges, with the top 12 samba schools competing for the title.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026
Some promote their own big-name DJs and music stars, which have drawn complaints and fines for drowning out the sounds of samba.
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
Back in the actual 1990s, ice dancers cycled through traditional dances: samba, blues, polka, rumba, quickstep, tango, jive, paso doble, Viennese waltz.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
Watching the rehearsal, Adriano Santos, a 43-year-old social worker from the Rocinha favela, said the samba school was "being brave, innovative."
From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026
This includes older blended traditions such as rumba and samba, newer but well-established blended genres such as reggae and Afrobeat, and groups with unique experimental sounds borrowing from more than one tradition.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
