First recorded in 1990–95; from Mexican Spanish: literally, band 1 (in the sense of “group of musicians”)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
It’s what Selena has carved for her Latino fans especially, what banda music has offered generations of Angeleno families, and what the Egyptian Lover has given “the freaks.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025
“This is very Pancho Barraza-style, especially with the venado shirt. I looked up old videos of him performing on YouTube. I do that a lot with these older banda looks,” Vallejo says.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025
Bertram went to his banda, sat on the edge of his bed, and wrestled manfully with himself.
From Cupid in Africa by Wren, P. C.
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.
