conga

[ kong-guh ]

/ ˈkɒŋ gə /

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noun, plural con·gas.

a Cuban ballroom dance that consists of three steps forward followed by a kick, characteristically performed by a group following a leader in a single line.

the music for this dance.

Also called conga drum . a tall, conical, Afro-Cuban drum played with the hands.

verb (used without object), con·gaed, con·ga·ing.

to dance a conga.

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Origin of conga

Borrowed into English from Cuban Spanish around 1930–35

Words nearby conga

confusion, confusticate, confutation, confute, Cong, conga, con game, Congaree, congé, congeal, congealed salad

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use conga in a sentence

The conga line at the bottleneck was a large group that had been traveling together, and not a queue of disparate teams trying to reach the top.
There Are Conga Lines and Huge Crowds on K2 Now|Fred Dreier|July 28, 2022|Outside Online
Flamboyant party queen Susanne Bartsch is certainly expanding her conga line.
Michael Musto Gets His Groove Back, as New York City Clubland Returns|Michael Musto|June 17, 2021|The Daily Beast
Turns out they were all there that morning, shuffling along in a slo-mo conga line that began in the parking lot and swelled to fill the trail, save for the folks who sought distance by carving their own routes through the beleaguered chaparral.
To Permit or Not to Permit?|Shawnté Salabert|April 15, 2021|Outside Online
After seeing a performance by the New York Philharmonic, he decided to tune his congas to certain pitches, following the example of timpani.
Candido Camero, ‘father of modern conga drumming,’ dies at 99|Matt Schudel|November 12, 2020|Washington Post

Three teenage girls, already scared, hugged each other in a sort of terrified conga line.
The House of Shock Is Terrifying Its Guests and Causing Controversy—and the Zombies Who Run the Show Are Loving It|Tyler Gillespie|October 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But the minute you file, the conga line dancing up the street to your competitors really gets going.
Big Losses, Bigger Paychecks|Megan McArdle|November 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
By now, everyone has seen the startling photos and video of the conga line of climbers ascending Everest earlier this month.
Mount Everest Suffers From Too Many Climbers and Deteriorating Conditions|Nick Heil|May 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
As the last of a conga line of doctors administering to Jackson, he is the most logical loser of smoking gun musical chairs.
Jacko's Lethal Injection?|Marcia Clark|July 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST
That man has been following me like a conga partner all afternoon.
Death Makes A Mistake|P.F. Costello

British Dictionary definitions for conga

conga

/ (ˈkɒŋɡə) /

noun

a Latin American dance of three steps and a kick to each bar, usually performed by a number of people in single file

Also called: conga drum a large tubular bass drum, used chiefly in Latin American and funk music and played with the hands

verb -gas, -gaing or -gaed

(intr) to dance the conga

Word Origin for conga

C20: from American Spanish, feminine of congo belonging to the Congo

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

conga

Origin of conga

Words nearby conga

Words related to conga

How to use conga in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for conga

Word Origin for conga