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”

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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

See Examples For:

hip-hop

One event may not seem related to another unless you know the two hip-hop stars represent opposing sides in a spiteful cold war that’s dragged on since 2017.

From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026

But since Roc Nation got involved, the event has made room for Latin music—Shakira with Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny—and especially hip-hop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Comey has worked on cases against the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was convicted on prostitution-related charges involving his two ex-girlfriends last year.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Shakur was a key figure in a hip-hop rivalry pitting the US East Coast against the West Coast.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

During holidays, he brought me cassettes and taught my friends and me how to dance to what we came to know as hip-hop.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

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