ring shout

Save This Word!

noun

a group dance of West African origin introduced into parts of the southern U.S. by Black revivalists, performed by shuffling counterclockwise in a circle while answering shouts of a preacher with corresponding shouts, and held to be, in its vigorous antiphonal patterns, a source in the development of jazz.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of ring shout

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35

Words nearby ring shout

ring ouzel, ring-porous, ring road, ring rot, ringsail, ring shout, ringside, ringsider, ringside seat, ring snake, Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes

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

How to use ring shout in a sentence

A lot of people ring in the New Year with vows to lose weight and exercise.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
These brave souls took an icy dip in the ocean to ring in 2015 and raise money for charity.
Diving Into 2015 With Polar Bear Plunge Extremists|James Joiner|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Some things never change as we wring out the old year and ring in the new one.
New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style|Candida Moss|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He did not shout “God is great,” but his random act served the purposes of ISIS almost as well.
France’s Wave of Crazy-Terror Christmas Attacks|Christopher Dickey|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

What was this human being fighting for everywhere but inside a ring?
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Yima pressed the earth with this ring, the genius of the Earth, Aramaîti, responded to his wish and order.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
I plainly heard a noise upon the cover of my closet like that of a cable, and the grating of it as it passed through the ring.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
I desired the captain would please to accept this ring in return of his civilities, which he absolutely refused.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
She did shout for joy, as with a sweeping stroke or two she lifted her body to the surface of the water.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Whoever succeeded in getting the ring on his stick won the game, and carried the prize home as a sign of victory.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike

British Dictionary definitions for ring shout

ring-shout

noun

a West African circle dance that has influenced jazz, surviving in the Black churches of the southern US

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