big band
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of big band
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
But then you, Stanley, pointed out that I was raised on wrong jazz, which is to say white big band jazz, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
The big band music stopped, and for a few seconds a hush fell over the guests.
From Barron's ● Apr. 26, 2026
The spirit of old-school jazz, blues, big band and soul inhabits the record, which stretches out over 71 minutes, as Raye flexes her compositional muscles.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
As Simon observed years later, the V-Discs “mark the high watermark of the big band years.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
In the late 1940s, Billy Eckstine’s big band boasted among its ranks some of the rising stars of the bebop era: Blakey, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon and Fats Navarro.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
