big band
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of big band
First recorded in 1925–30
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 big band music stopped, and for a few seconds a hush fell over the guests.
From Barron's ● Apr. 26, 2026
As Simon observed years later, the V-Discs “mark the high watermark of the big band years.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
"Oh, I don't know if we're owning being a big band," Oddie demurs.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025
The courtly gentleman guided women around the floor to big band standards with all the aplomb of teenage boys waltzing at a cotillion dance they’ve been forced to attend by their parents.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2025
“I don’t dig joining some big band, one-nighting all over just to say I played with Count or Duke or somebody.”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
