Synonyms

country music

American

noun

a style and genre of largely string-accompanied American popular music having roots in the folk music of the Southeast and cowboy music of the West, usually vocalized, generally simple in form and harmony, and typified by romantic or melancholy ballads accompanied by acoustic or electric guitar, banjo, violin, and harmonica.

country music British

noun

Sometimes shortened to: country. a type of 20th-century popular music based on White folk music of the southeastern US

"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 country music

First recorded in 1965–70

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:

country music

The following evening, one of Parton's nieces, Jada Star, performed as part of a tribute concert at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House, regarded as the home of country music.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

In a statement, a representative for the country music icon said: “After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

Parton, who died at 80 on Tuesday after a battle with cancer, was a titan in country music.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

To nine-year-old Zenaida, it wasn't Dolly Parton's storied country music career that made her so great.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

I punch on the radio, but all I get is country music and static, and I don’t know which is worse.

From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

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