hip-hop

American  

[hip-hop] / ˈhɪpˌhɒp /

Or hip hop

noun

1. a popular culture movement originated by Black performers in New York City in the 1970s and characterized by rap music, break dancing, and graffiti art.

   The choreographer was a pioneer in introducing hip-hop to the national and international stage.

   Writing about hip-hop was really just an excuse to write about all these other aspects of Black culture.

2. rap music.

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adjective

1. relating to or characteristic of this movement.

   Unlike other big-name designers, he tapped into hip-hop street styles, which made him one of the wealthiest designers of the 1990s.

hip-hop British  

/ ˈhɪpˌhɒp /

noun

1. a US pop culture movement originating in the 1980s comprising rap music, graffiti, and break dancing

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hip-hop Cultural  

1. Another name for rap music.

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Discover More

The term hip-hop also refers to the speech, fashions, and personal style adopted by many youths, particularly in urban areas.

Etymology

Origin of hip-hop

First recorded in 1975–80; probably hip ⁴ ( def. ) + hop ¹ ( def. ) (in the sense “act of hopping”

Explanation

Hip hop is both a genre of music that features rhythmic rhyming lyrics and an artistic subculture influenced by hip hop music. Since the late 1970s, hip hop culture has been known for elements that include rapping (or chanting lyrics), graffiti art, turntable DJing, and variations on breakdancing. The name hip hop originally referred to 1950s teen dance parties, and later to the South Bronx parties where rap and hip hop were born. As the Sugarhill Gang says in 1980s song "Rapper's Delight": "I said a hip hop / The hippie to the hippie / The hip hip a hop, and you don't stop."

Example Sentences

In “The Tao of Wu,” Robert Diggs of Brooklyn, N.Y., charts his reinvention as RZA, the “Abbot” of the hip-hop juggernaut Wu-Tang Clan.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

Magistrate Judge Peggy Cross-Goldenberg that he helped others gain access to the building where the hip-hop icon, born Jason Mizell, was shot in 2002.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

So is hip-hop, which they use as a soundtrack to each digitally rendered block attack.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026

The group was initially conceived as a hip-hop crew, but Bang decided to adopt a "K-pop idol model" after considering "the business context", he told Time in an interview in 2019.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

All around the reception area, there are framed pictures of the various DJs with hip-hop royalty they’ve interviewed over the years.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas