rhythm and blues

[ rith-uhmuhn blooz ]

/ ˈrɪð əm ən ˈbluz /

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noun

a folk-based but urbanized form of Black popular music that is marked by strong, repetitious rhythms and simple melodies and was developed, in a commercialized form, into rock-'n'-roll.

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Also rhythm-and-blues .

Origin of rhythm and blues

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rhythm and blues in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes a column has the economy and rhythm of a short story.
The Best Columns of 2014|John Avlon, Errol Louis|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Ragtime, blues, country, jazz, soul, and rock and roll were all pioneered or inspired by black artists.
The Cultural Crimes of Iggy Azalea|Amy Zimmerman|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
The significance of time is determined by the movement of any selection, or, in other words, the rhythm.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
The reason we associate rhythm with the significance of time is that rhythm is a measurer of time.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
The rhythm of a simple tune plays favourably on a child's ear, enhancing life according to this great law.
Children's Ways|James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for rhythm and blues

rhythm and blues

noun

(functioning as singular) any of various kinds of popular music derived from or influenced by the bluesAbbreviation: R & B

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