jazz

American  

[jaz] / dʒæz /

noun

1. music originating in New Orleans around the beginning of the 20th century and subsequently developing through various increasingly complex styles, generally marked by intricate, propulsive rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, improvisatory, virtuosic solos, melodic freedom, and a harmonic idiom ranging from simple diatonicism through chromaticism to atonality.

2. a style of dance music, popular especially in the 1920s, arranged for a large band and marked by some of the features of jazz.

3. dancing or a dance performed to such music, as with violent bodily motions and gestures.

4. Slang. liveliness; spirit; excitement.

5. Slang. insincere, exaggerated, or pretentious talk.

   Don't give me any of that jazz about your great job!

6. Slang. similar or related but unspecified things, activities, etc..

   He goes for fishing and all that jazz.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of jazz.

verb (used with object)

1. to play (music) in the manner of jazz.

2. Informal.

   1. to excite or enliven.

   2. to accelerate.

3. Slang: Vulgar. to copulate with.

verb (used without object)

1. to dance to jazz music.

2. to play or perform jazz music.

3. Informal. to act or proceed with great energy or liveliness.

4. Slang: Vulgar. to copulate.

verb phrase

1. jazz up

   1. to add liveliness, vigor, or excitement to.

   2. to add ornamentation, color, or extra features to, in order to increase appeal or interest; embellish.

   3. to accelerate.

jazz British  

/ dʒæz /

noun

1. 1. a kind of music of African-American origin, characterized by syncopated rhythms, solo and group improvisation, and a variety of harmonic idioms and instrumental techniques. It exists in a number of styles Compare blues See also bebop bop 1 Dixieland free hard bop harmolodics mainstream modern jazz New Orleans jazz swing trad

   2. ( as modifier )

      a jazz band

   3. ( in combination )

      a jazzman

2. informal enthusiasm or liveliness

3. slang rigmarole; paraphernalia

   legal papers and all that jazz

4. slang sexual intercourse

5. slang a dance

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verb

1. (intr) to play or dance to jazz music

2. slang to have sexual intercourse with (a person)

jazz Cultural  

1. A form of American music that grew out of African-Americans' musical traditions at the beginning of the twentieth century. Jazz is generally considered a major contribution of the United States to the world of music. It quickly became a form of dance music, incorporating a “big beat” and solos by individual musicians. For many years, all jazz was improvised and taught orally, and even today jazz solos are often improvised. Over the years, the small groups of the original jazz players evolved into the “Big Bands” (led, for example, by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Glenn Miller), and finally into concert ensembles. Other famous jazz musicians include Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Ella Fitzgerald.

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Other Word Forms

• jazzer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of jazz

1905–10, 1915–20 jazz for def. 5; origin uncertain

Explanation

Jazz, a form of instrumental and vocal music characterized by syncopated rhythms and informal improvisation, has been called America's only original art form. If you've ever listened to Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, or Thelonious Monk, jazz is what you're hearing. The term jazz originated not with music, but in baseball, where it was used as a synonym for "pep, vim, vigor." It began to be used to describe music about a decade after jazz first began to be played in 1900 New Orleans. Since then, like the art form it describes, jazz has changed and expanded its meaning. Today, jazz can refer to a genre of dance, to the act of "sprucing something up," to the decade of the 1920s (nicknamed The Jazz Age), or to holding your hands above your head and waving your fingers, making jazz hands.

Example Sentences

JAZZ: Carlos Boozer Sure a championship would come in handy one day for Boozer, but the goal since the start of the season seemingly was to cash in during 2010 free agency.

From Newsweek • May 2, 2010

JAZZ: Injuries clearly are a concern, what with Boozer's rib and Andrei Kirilenko's slower-than-expected return to health.

From Newsweek • Apr. 15, 2010

JAZZ: Paul Millsap With Carlos Boozer's rib injury creating a huge question mark, the league's ultimate backup plan figures to take on a major postseason role.

From Newsweek • Apr. 15, 2010