Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • banda
    banda
    noun
    a style of Mexican dance music featuring brass instruments and having a heavy beat.
  • Banda
    Banda
    noun
    Hastings Kamuzu 1906–97, Malawi physician, political leader, and public official: 1st president of Malawi 1966–94.

banda

1 American  
[bahn-duh] / ˈbɑn də /

noun

  1. a style of Mexican dance music featuring brass instruments and having a heavy beat.


Banda 2 American  
[ban-duh] / ˈbæn də /

noun

  1. Hastings Kamuzu 1906–97, Malawi physician, political leader, and public official: 1st president of Malawi 1966–94.


Banda British  
/ ˈbændə /

noun

  1. Hastings Kamuzu (kæˈmuːzuː). 1906–97, Malawi statesman. As first prime minister of Nyasaland (from 1963), he led his country to independence (1964) as Malawi: president (1966–94)

"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 banda

First recorded in 1990–95; from Mexican Spanish: literally, band 1 (in the sense of “group of musicians”)

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.

See Examples For:

People were swarming vendors from eateries all around Koreatown, dance circles formed around speakers blasting banda music, and “oohs” and “ahhs” at every missed shot were in perfect sync.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 13, 2026

Chuy Lizarraga and José Angel Ledezma Quintero—popularly known as El Coyote—boast a combined 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify, but their latest venture isn’t named after a heartbreak ballad or a rural banda anthem.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 16, 2026

Barraza is onstage with a mariachi accompanying his banda.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 15, 2025

Pivoting away from her usual banda influences, “Flores En Mi Alma” instead channels elements of cumbia, reggae and R&B into the sounds of contemporary música Mexicana.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 6, 2025

This looks like it––not!” and he showed the slashes in his sombrero to make room for the blue banda around his head.

From The Treasure Trail A Romance of the Land of Gold and Sunshine by Robert Wesley Amick

Ora Banda generated A$121 million of operating cash flow and A$36 million of free cash flow in the quarter after investing in its projects.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 17, 2026

Research by Banda University of Agriculture and Technology found that nearly one-sixth of the district's dense forest cover disappeared between 1991 and 2022, largely due to mining and agricultural expansion.

From BBC Jun. 1, 2026

It notes peers including Ora Banda Mining and Bellevue Gold are trading at large premiums to Pantoro’s A$1.5 billion market value.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 13, 2026

Madonna said she was saddened Banda had "chosen to release lies" and suggested the criticism stemmed from her dismissal of Oponyo.

From Barron's Mar. 11, 2026

Our district is the most fertile in all Malawi, often called the “breadbasket” of the country, and Banda understood what was required to work the soil.

From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training