rhythm and blues
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of rhythm and blues
An Americanism dating back to 1945–50
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.
Americans were settling down, ballrooms were fading, and audiences were turning to bebop, rhythm and blues, and singers such as Frank Sinatra.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
“It’s become my church, my gym and my therapist,” she said, as pulsing rhythm and blues played from a portable speaker inside the large sorting room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2025
One of the most successful African musical act of the 2000s, husband and wife duo Amadou & Mariam achieved global fame by combining West African influences with rhythm and blues.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2025
He never learned to read or score music, but he had a strong ear for pop idioms, including country, jazz, and rhythm and blues.
From New York Times ● May 1, 2024
Organizers invited an exhilarating mix of performers: there would be rock and roll, rhythm and blues, folk and country.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
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.
