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• juba
  juba

  noun

  a lively dance characterized by rhythmic hand clapping, body and thigh slapping, and stomping, developed by African Americans enslaved on Southern plantations in the 19th century.
• Juba
  Juba

  noun

  a female day name for Monday. day name

juba

¹ American  

[joo-buh] / ˈdʒu bə /

noun

1. a lively dance characterized by rhythmic hand clapping, body and thigh slapping, and stomping, developed by African Americans enslaved on Southern plantations in the 19th century.

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Juba ² American  

[joo-bah] / ˈdʒu bɑ /

noun

1. a female day name for Monday. day name

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Juba ³ American  

[joo-bah] / ˈdʒu bɑ /

noun

1. Italian Giuba.  a river in E Africa, flowing S from S Ethiopia through Somalia to the Indian Ocean. 1,000 miles (1,609 km) long.

2. the capital of South Sudan, on the White Nile.

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Juba ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒuːbə /

noun

1. a river in NE Africa, rising in S central Ethiopia and flowing south across Somalia to the Indian Ocean: the chief river of Somalia. Length: about 1660 km (1030 miles)

2. the capital of South Sudan, on the White Nile river. Pop: 250 000 (2006 est)

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juba ² British  

/ ˈdʒuːbə /

noun

1. a lively African-American dance developed in the southern US

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Etymology

Origin of juba

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; of obscure origin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

juba Juba

The third movement, based on the juba, the African American dance replete with stomping and slapping the arms, was a juba, fast and a little erratic, not symphonically suave.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2022

The juba dance movement of Price’s Third features asymmetrical phrasing, rhythmic complexity and interaction between sections.

From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2022

We see why when he leaves the organ and heads out into the studio audience with his sister Rose: After her solo, he performs a dance routine drawn from Africa, patting juba.

From New York Times ● Feb. 10, 2022

A spiritual, harmonically inventive composition, it climaxes with an allegretto apparently modelled after the African-American "juba" dance once practised on US plantations.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2021

Harriet was in a stupor most of the time, deaf to the laughter, the dancing and the singing, deaf to the clack of the bones, the beat of the juba.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry

"Paris, Milan, London -- the fashion industry is dominated by South Sudanese boys and girls at the moment," said Doris Sukeji, founder of the Jubalicious modelling agency in the capital Juba.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

Analysts believe the threats by the SPLA-IO forces to advance towards Juba with the aim of occupying it are meant to put pressure on the government to release Machar.

From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026

In response to questions about the episode in Juba, the senior State Department official denied it was a mistake or that Rubio’s review wasn’t careful.

From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025

During a visit to the capital Juba in mid-October, he said he had secured the support of South Sudanese authorities for these measures.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025

Large boats heading south on the Nile couldn’t go any farther than Juba because of the rapids and shallows on the upper part of the river, so that made my town a busy port.

From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau