bhangra

American

[bahng-gruh] / ˈbɑŋ grə /

noun

a type of popular dance music combining Punjabi folk traditions with Western pop music, fusing traditional drum-based music with elements of reggae, ragga, hip-hop, rock, soul, and dance.

bhangra British

/ ˈbæŋɡrə /

noun

a type of Asian pop music that combines elements of traditional Punjabi music with Western pop

"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 bhangra

Borrowed into English from Punjabi around 1985–90

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:

bhangra

As revellers dance to remixes of global chart-toppers, iconic Bollywood songs, bhangra beats and a whole host of other sounds, DJ D-lish says she is "pushing the boundary of what south Asian music means".

From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2024

But as the sun set and floodlights took over, the night air was filled the sound of whistles and bhangra drums.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2023

The video shows Mr. Singh leading a bhangra, a traditional Punjabi dance, with other bus drivers at a bus depot.

From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2023

They taught us dances — dandia, garba, bhangra — that we'd perform for our parents on the last day of camp.

From Salon ● Jul. 16, 2022

I demonstrate one of the bhangra moves Ahmed tried to teach Mustafa and me, with little success.

From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan

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