mambo

[mahm-boh]

noun, plural mam·bos.

a fast ballroom dance of Caribbean origin, rhythmically similar to the rumba and cha-cha but having a more complex pattern of steps.

verb (used without object)

to dance the mambo.

Origin of mambo

Borrowed into English from American Spanish around 1945–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mambo

Contemporary Examples of mambo

And acts like mambo king Pupi Campo and the energetic DeCastro Sisters made Las Vegas their new home.
Will Hyman Roth Return to Havana With Normalized Relations?
John L. Smith
December 18, 2014
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love By Oscar Hijuelos We love reading about the superstars of music.
What are the Best Novels on Music?
Ted Gioia
October 19, 2013
The music and Sophia singing “mambo Italiano” always makes us want to dance.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana Choose Their Favorite Italian Films of All Time
Domenico Dolce, Stefano Gabbana
October 25, 2012
("Mambo Sun") He was cool because he never straightened his hair.
'T-Rex' Will Never Be Extinct
Simon Doonan
August 13, 2010

Historical Examples of mambo

Thus sometimes the Molimo, or priest of Munwali, and the Mambo or chief were different persons.
Benita, An African Romance
H. Rider Haggard
"The white gold-seeker does not believe in spirits, and he defies them," Mambo repeated in his sing-song voice.
Benita, An African Romance
H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for mambo

mambo

noun plural -bos

a modern Latin American dance, resembling the rumba, derived from the ritual dance of voodoo

a voodoo priestess

verb -bos, -boing or -boed

(intr) to perform this dance

Word Origin for mambo

American Spanish, probably from Haitian Creole: voodoo priestess

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

Word Origin and History for mambo

popular dance (like the rhumba but livelier), September 1948, from American Spanish mambo, said by Webster to be from Haitian creole word for "voodoo priestess."