cumbia
Americannoun
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a type of Latin American dance music of Colombian origin, similar to salsa and using guitars, accordions, bass guitar, and percussion.
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a dance performed to this music.
Etymology
Origin of cumbia
First recorded in 1860–65; from Latin American Spanish; origin uncertain
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.
Last Friday at Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights, visitors were greeted by the thumping bass of cumbia sonideras, earthy scent of leather trinkets and clothing racks featuring silky screen-printed soccer jerseys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
But back at the camp in Los Azules, where cumbia music carries on the wind, Andres Carrizo is looking forward to a boom time.
From Barron's ● May 23, 2026
Now the Texas-based artist is taking her musical stylings in a new direction, drawing from her Monterrey roots with the release of her latest “Cuando Una Mujer,” a cumbia norteña about fierce female empowerment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
Brother modernized the band and the guys modernized a form of cumbia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025
Later that night, after I turn off the TV, I notice music— loud cumbia rhythms—coming from outside.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
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.
