1860–65; probably < a Bantu language; compare Lingala mongu an antelope
An Americanism dating back to 1915–20; from Latin American Spanish (Puerto Rico) bongó
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The award-winning artist is beloved for his "bongo flava" hits.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
The song boasts Grupo Frontera’s traditional norteño sound, with the addition of their signature bongo of course.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025
He settled for occasionally sitting in on bongo.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2023
In snippets from the Season 2 trailer, we see Misty dressed in purple, banging on a bongo alongside a bunch of Lottie's followers.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2023
“Henry Winter,” said my friends when I pointed him out, at a distance, making a wide circle to avoid a group of bongo players on the lawn.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
The wife of Ali Bongo, whose family ruled the central African country with an iron fist for 55 years, had been accused of manipulating her husband to embezzle taxpayers' money.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
The Bongo family ruled Gabon for more than five decades.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025
A Gabon court on Wednesday sentenced the former first lady and son of the oil-rich country's deposed leader Ali Bongo to 20 years in prison following a two-day graft trial.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
On Tuesday night, Sylvia Bongo and Noureddin Bongo were found guilty of embezzlement and corruption after a trial that began a day earlier in their absence.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025
After the shocked babies and their equally shocked parents were safely ensconced in their dens, I admitted my feelings to Bongo.
From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate
Settles-Bey sways to the rhythm of the bongos on a recent Sunday in the park -- but nerves are still frayed.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
Before being introduced to the wild from captivity, the bongos go through a series of adaptation phases for them to build the immunity needed to survive.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
It has some of the fewer than 100 remaining critically endangered mountain bongos in the world, alongside rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards and others.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
The music seemed to levitate with the centrifugal force of rampaging bongos.
From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2023
Feynman sat on the hood of a jeep, playing bongos as people danced in the dirt streets.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
