zouk

American

[zook] / zuk /

noun

a style of dance music that originated in Guadeloupe and Martinique, featuring Caribbean rhythms over a disco beat and played with electric guitars and synthesizers.

zouk British

/ zuːk /

noun

a style of dance music that combines African and Latin American rhythms and uses electronic instruments and modern studio technology

"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

Etymology

Origin of zouk

1985–90; apparently < Lesser Antillean Creole French; said to mean literally “place to dance, party”

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.

Fizzing with freedom and joy, it combines elements of chanson and French-Caribbean zouk, and looks set for a top 10 placing.

From BBC • May 9, 2025

Born to famed singer Lionel Benjamin in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Mikaben was a vocalist, composer and producer who spanned several genres, including Haitian kompa, the Antillean zouk, Jamaican reggae and hip-hop.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2022

For his 2012 album La Guinéenne, he embraced the golden age of west African music: lyrics in the Guinean Mandinka language accompanied by zouk, funk and reggae.

From The Guardian • May 22, 2020

The intro is like a compas or zouk, and then the sera part — the improvisation — is pure ritmo.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2012

Buffett is a folk, country, rock-'n'-roll, calypso, Latin, honky-tonk, Big Band, reggae, bebop, Tin Pan Alley, zouk, polka singer.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023