conga

[kong-guh]

noun

plural

congas 

1. Also called conga line. 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.

2. the music for this dance.

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

verb (used without object)

congaed, congaing 

1. to dance a conga.

conga

/ ˈkɒŋɡə /

noun

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

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

verb

1. (intr) to dance the conga

Word History and Origins

Origin of conga¹

First recorded in 1930–35; from Cuban Spanish

Word History and Origins

Origin of conga¹

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

Example Sentences

Arnaz gained celebrity as the American popularizer of the conga, an Afro Cuban line dance that his father had once tried to ban.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Celebrations included conga lines, bubble machines, dolphins swimming in the ocean alongside them, and sunsets burning orange on the horizon.

Read more on BBC

In that euphoric moment, the King's mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, then 19, had also secretly gone out among the crowds and had been part of a conga at the Ritz hotel.

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"As a Canadian I am saddened, appalled, disgusted and angry that King Charles appears to be joining the conga line of supplicants," said Jo-Ann in Ontario.

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Everybody soon found out he meant conga line, because “Tooz” pretty much drank Bourbon Street dry.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• disco 
• samba 
• tango 
• waltz