samba
Americannoun
-
sambas
plural
verb (used without object)
-
sambas,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sambaed,
past participle, past
-
sambaing
present participle
noun
-
a lively modern ballroom dance from Brazil in bouncy duple time
-
a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sambasimple
-
sambassimple
-
have sambaedperfect
-
has sambaedperfect
-
am sambaingprogressive
-
are sambaingprogressive
-
is sambaingprogressive
-
have been sambaingperfect progressive
-
has been sambaingperfect progressive
Past
-
sambaedsimple
-
had sambaedperfect
-
was sambaingprogressive
-
were sambaingprogressive
-
had been sambaingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of samba
First recorded in 1885; from Portuguese, of African origin, possibly Kongo semba, the name of a dance
Vocabulary lists containing samba
South America - Middle School
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
South America - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
South America - High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
A few years later McFadden returned to sample live samba for “The Garden,” the song from “The Audience’s Listening” that has nearly 11 million Spotify streams, the most in his solo discography.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
But on Sunday afternoon against Norway, that samba soccer met its match: a 6-foot-5 Viking warrior who has absolutely no time for anything fancy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Brazilians will pack into a Queens restaurant where samba dancers provide pregame entertainment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
He paints his fingernails and is no stranger to samba dancing in the finish area, wanting to bring more colour to alpine skiing.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
At the Pacific Rim Championships in April 2016, I debuted a brand-new, upgraded floor routine set to fast, upbeat samba music that I thought would go over well with the crowd in Rio.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
She still loves street-wear, and vintage, and is known to be a fan of sambas.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2024
The thousands of Brazilians packing the venerable venue danced and sang along as he played his rock-influenced sambas.
From Reuters ● Oct. 12, 2023
“But you can escape that inequality in a few places: the sambas, the beaches and the dive bars.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2021
One of Brazil’s best loved sambas – “Na cadência do samba” – ponders the aspiration of every Rio musician: dying in the midst of a foot-stomping jam session.
From The Guardian ● May 8, 2020
The Brazilian duo Minas will perform jazz sambas and bossa novas.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 1, 2015
Ms. Dalomba found herself choking up as she sambaed past her popcorn shop.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2018
After dinner, he went to a reception at the Brazilian embassy where he sambaed until 3:30.
From Time Magazine Archive
At a state ball during his visit to Rio two years ago, he made the gesture of leaving with President Dutra at midnight, then returned, removed his presidential sash, and sambaed till dawn.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last week, when the two nations announced a territorial waters agreement, it was clear that Brazil had sambaed away with the talks.
From Time Magazine Archive
After the game, Brazil, sharing the same hotel as the U.S. team, celebrated the victory by sambaing through the hotel lobby, beating drums, and literally dancing around the dejected U.S. team.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2015
Instead of sightseeing or sambaing in nightclubs with gallants from the Chamber of Commerce, they flew directly to Parana's coffee-raising center, 200 miles inland from Sao Paulo.
From Time Magazine Archive
On the floor below, three dance bands, thousands of voices, brigades of clinking bottles and the hypnotic hop of feet endlessly sambaing built a solid wall of sound.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
