A cappella singing, now esp. (chiefly U.S.) regarded as a genre of popular music. Also: a musical piece sung a cappella.

Originally: an incompatibility or tension between contrasting (esp. musical) sounds, dissonance. Now: spec. a piece of popular music that contains…

A type of working-class culture originating in the townships of Pretoria during the 1930s; a drinking and dancing party characteristic of this…

A variety of (originally American) vocal group music, usually performed acapella or with little instrumental accompaniment, so called from the use of…

Among science fiction and fantasy fans: a type of popular music, commonly performed at fan conventions, characterized by the use of familiar or…

Short for folk-music n. at compounds 2. So folk-rock, folk-music with a strong beat; folk club, etc.

the melodic popular music associated with the Beatles and other Liverpool bands, esp. of the 1960s. Cf. Mersey sound at Mersey, n.

attributive. Designating or relating to the catchy, melodic popular music associated with the Beatles and other Merseyside bands, esp. of the 1960s…

attributive. Designating or relating to the catchy, melodic popular music associated with the Beatles and other Merseyside bands, esp. of the 1960s…

a style of popular music originating in southern California in the early 1960s, associated with surfing and surf culture; spec. (a) a style of…

A style of music combining elements of the music performed in traditional malombo ceremonies, esp. the drums and drumming style, with elements taken…

A style of jazz-influenced popular music, esp. influenced by traditional southern African forms, originating in the townships of Johannesburg in…

designating a category of (recorded) music which is popular without being loud, abrasive, or otherwise demanding; also transferred.

= sense 1b.

Motown music. Cf. Tamla Motown, n.

Also in form bugalú. A style of music developed by Spanish-speaking musicians in New York in the 1960s, fusing African-American styles such as…

a style of pop music characterized by loud volume, a strong melodic line with simple rhythms, heavy use of guitars and keyboards, and often…

Psychedelic articles or phenomena collectively; spec. music, art, or culture based on the experiences produced by or associated with psychedelic…

A style of light pop music originating in, and particularly associated with, France in the 1960s.

Popular art or music characterized by the expression of radical or alternative political and social ideas; this as a genre.

Bubblegum music. See sense B. 1.

Used attributively and absol. to designate a style of music characterized by a heavy beat and influenced by gospel music, which was made popular by…

Also tex-mex. A broad genre of folk and popular music associated with Mexican-American inhabitants of Texas, characterized by use of the accordion…

Music. Originally: music played at a slow tempo. Now usually: spec. a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a slow tempo and relaxing…

A form of music originating in Zanzibar and popular in East Africa, combining Arabic singing styles with elements of African and Indian music.

A short, energetic, usually uncomplicated piece or passage of (esp. jazz or rock) music, esp. one that is very fast and loud.

traditional local or ethnic music, esp. from the developing world; spec. a style of commercial pop music incorporating elements of such folk…

A style of popular music of African-American origin, based on elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, and soul, and characterized by a prominent…

= middle of the road, adj. 2.

= tropicalismo, n.

a style of popular music incorporating elements of African music and jazz, soul, and funk.

Music. Forming nouns denoting varieties of (popular) music characterized by the use of electronically created sounds, as electro-beat, electro-funk, e…

Any type of popular music composed or performed in a style markedly different from (and frequently representing a conscious reaction to) that of…

Prefixed to the names of styles of popular music (as techno-pop, techno-rock, techno-house, etc.) to denote music incorporating sounds generated…

An artistic and cultural movement that arose in Brazil in the late 1960s, characterized by the fusion of traditional Brazilian culture with foreign…

= Tropicalia, n.

A genre of strongly rhythmical pop music mainly intended for dancing in nightclubs and particularly popular in the mid to late 1970s. Cf. earlier…

Any of various experimental styles of popular music associated with German groups of the 1970s, generally characterized by an improvisatory…

A genre of popular music characterized by sentimental and undemanding lyrics, simple upbeat melodies, and (in later use usually) synthesized…

any style of African pop music; frequently attributive.

any of various styles of music incorporating elements of punk and funk; cf. funk, n.2 3.

a type of music which combines elements of disco and funk.

pop music performed by musicians from continental Europe; esp. (occasionally mildly depreciative) that which is largely synthesized, with simple…

A style of popular music featuring close-harmony singing (usually by a three- or four-woman group) of traditional or neo-traditional African (esp…

Music. A style of music which combines elements of funk, rap, and psychedelic rock.

Funkadelic music (see funkadelic, adj. 1). Also occasionally in extended use: funky or funkadelic things collectively.

A form of entertainment, originating in Japan, in which a person sings the vocal line of a popular song to the accompaniment of a pre-recorded…

popular music which is considered to be unorthodox or outside of the mainstream; spec. = alternative rock n..

Originally North American. Any of various forms of popular music (often a variety of an established genre) regarded as particularly uncompromising…

A style of popular music blending characteristics of rockabilly with the raw, aggressive performance style of punk rock, and typically having…

A performer or fan of a style of popular music blending characteristics of rockabilly with the raw, aggressive performance style of punk rock; this…

Any of various styles of popular music of African-American origin, typically drawing on elements of soul, funk, disco, and hip-hop and featuring…

A performer of a type of popular music combining elements of country and western with those of punk rock; this type of music; (also) the culture…

A style of popular music, originating in Indonesia, which combines Arab and Malay folk elements with contemporary international musical styles, and…

A genre of popular music originating among young African Americans in New York City in the late 1970s, typically performed by DJs and MCs, and…

Any of various types of American soul music associated with this movement, often characterized by an energetic tempo and strong brass orchestration…

Music (originally U.S. colloquial). A performance in which lyrics (typically rhyming and sometimes improvised) are spoken rhythmically over a…

Originally U.S. The performance of rap music; rhythmic speaking or recitation of lyrics in the style associated with this. Cf. rap, v.2 8d.

A style of popular music originating in Zimbabwe, combining elements of traditional African music with a fast dance rhythm and a prominent…

Any of various types of music characterized by rhythms and sounds which are intended to be hypnotic or trance-inducing; spec. a type of electronic…

A style of popular music originating in Kenya, influenced by traditional Kenyan music and characterized by fast-paced rhythms and the melodic…

spec. (chiefly British). The subculture, or the related music or fashions, of the New Romantic movement (see New Romantic, adj. 2).

Post-punk music. Cf. New Wave, n. 2c.

= sense 8c.

A technique, frequently used in rap music, in which a record is briefly interrupted during play and manually rotated backwards and forwards to…

(senses additions, additions) scratch band, scratch-music, scratch-record, scratch-tape, scratch technique, etc.

a primarily British genre of popular music originating in the early 1980s and featuring heavy use of synthesizers and other electronic instruments…

A style of dance music characterized by the use of a synthesized backing track and electronically created beat.

The style of pop music played by or associated with garage bands (see sense additions).

A style of popular music, originating in Latin America (esp. among Afro-Americans of Cuba and Brazil), characterized by its dance rhythms and by…

A type of soul music associated with Philadelphia; = Philly soul at sense B.

As a mass noun: that which belongs to or is characteristic of the New Age; spec. New Age philosophy or culture; New Age music.

a style of modern music influenced by New Age ideas, which characteristically seeks to develop a mood of relaxation in the listener by reproducing…

A type of largely instrumental, electronic music, characterized by the absence of a persistent beat, typically slow, soothing, and unobtrusive in…

British pop music; (now usually) spec. the music of a number of British guitar-led groups, first popular in the early to mid 1990s, drawing on…

= gangsta rap n. at gangsta, n. adj.compounds.

A type of electronic dance music, influenced by funk and disco and typically featuring the use of drum machines, sequencers, sampled sound…

= main sense.

A type of Senegalese rhythm, used as the basis of much Senegalese popular music; (also) music incorporating this rhythm, in which all instruments…

A style of Algerian popular music which combines Arabic and Algerian folk elements with contemporary international musical styles, and whose…

A genre of Korean popular music characterized by repetitive rhythms and emotional lyrics, combining a traditional Korean singing style with…

A style of popular dance music combining Caribbean (esp. French Antillean) and Western elements, and characterized by a strong fast beat derived…

A type of popular music originating in the Asian community in Britain and incorporating elements of both Punjabi folk and Western dance music.

A New York variety of house music, influenced by soul, and with powerful vocals and a strong emphasis on the lyrics.

A blend of hip-hop and house music, usually consisting of a spoken rap over a house backing track.

Also new skool. = nu skool, n.

A style or genre of popular music regarded as relatively traditional, old-fashioned, or uninfluenced by newer styles; spec. (also old skool), rap…

An extremely fast variant of hardcore punk music, typically characterized by very brief song structures.

= acid house, n.

A type of house music popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, characterized by a fast beat, a spare, hypnotic, synthesized sound, and a…

A genre of dance music, first popular within the United Kingdom club subculture of the late 1980s, incorporating elements of jazz, funk, soul, and…

A type of largely instrumental, electronic music, that is typically slow, soothing, and unobtrusive in style, characterized by the absence of a…

A form of popular music originating in Hong Kong, which combines Western-style pop music with Cantonese lyrics.

= dance music n. at additions. Frequently attributive.

a variety of house music with a comparatively relaxed and mellow sound influenced by soul, gospel, and blues, and characterized by powerful vocals…

A genre of harsh, uncompromising rock music characterized by the incorporation of sounds resembling those produced by machinery used in large-scale…

A form of dance music combining elements of rhythm and blues, soul, hip-hop, and rap music.

A style of popular music characterized by the use of synthesized sounds and having a fast, repetitive dance beat, with few or no vocals. Cf. techno-…

a style of popular music, usually featuring layered guitar effects and quiet or breathy vocals, in which the creation of an atmospheric, textured…

a style of rap music, originating in south-central Los Angeles, featuring aggressive and confrontational lyrics centring on the violence of gang…

(a) = multiculturalism, n. (b) spec. A form of popular music incorporating disparate ethnic melodic or rhythmic styles, instrumentation, etc.

a form of music combining elements of rhythm and blues, soul, and rap music; cf. swingbeat, n.

a type of popular music characterized by loud, distorted, or fuzzy guitar, but retaining a strong emphasis on melody; cf. sense 1b.

A large (often illicit) party or event at which electronic dance music is played, usually held in a warehouse or open field and frequently…

Any of various styles or genres of music associated with the Mexican-American inhabitants of southern Texas (see sense additions. and Tex-Mex, adj. n.…

Originally British. A genre of popular dance music characterized by the use of breakbeats, esp. as contrasted with dance music that has a very…

chill-out adj. slang (phr.) designed to induce or enhance a relaxed mood, esp. in chill-out music. chill-out room n. an area in a nightclub, usually…

Elliptically for: ‘indie music’, music typical of independent record labels, frequently characterized as unpolished or uncommercialized.

Originally U.S. = new jack swing n. at compounds. Also: a performer or fan of this music.

new jack swing as performed by women.

A type of popular music derived from hardcore punk music, characterized by the use of dissonance or inharmonious noise, esp. loud distorted guitar…

Originally and chiefly British. A form of British popular music combining the guitar-based melodies of indie pop with the dance rhythms of Acid…

Popular electronic dance music characterized by a combination of often highly syncopated rhythms, fast breakbeats, and a heavy, usually slower…

Short for gangsta rap n. at compounds.

More fully handbag house. A form of electronic dance music derived from house, characterized by its highly commercial appeal, catchy melodies, and…

Music that combines elements of hip-hop and pop.

Any of a variety of musical styles which combine elements of lounge music and hardcore. Also (humorously): lounge music (cf. lounge, n.), typically…

A variety of popular music characterized by the use of electronic synthesizers and psychedelic effects or sounds; esp. a variety of electronic…

A style of popular music originating in Britain at the start of the 1990s, featuring a sound in which the distinctions between separate…

A genre of popular music characterized by slow tempos, a sombre, atmospheric, sometimes densely textured sound, and quiet, forlorn vocals…

Prefixed to the names of styles of popular music (as techno-pop, techno-rock, techno-house, etc.) to denote music incorporating sounds generated…

A harsh, aggressive type of house music originating in Rotterdam, characterized by an extremely fast dance beat.

A genre of dance music, originating in Britain in the early 1990s, which incorporates elements of ragga, hip-hop, and techno, and is…

A genre of popular music characterized by sparse, often acoustic instrumentation, very slow tempos, and bleak or melancholy lyrics; (also…

A form of garage music (garage, n. adj.additions) originating in the United Kingdom, retaining the emphasis on vocals but characterized by a…

A form of electronic dance music characterized by aggressive, syncopated breakbeats, low-frequency bass lines, and horror-themed sampled sound…

Usually as one word. A form of electronic dance music characterized by aggressive, syncopated breakbeats, low-frequency bass lines, and…

Music. spec. Any of various popular styles of electronic music deriving from techno and rave music, esp. those having a more ambient, esoteric, or…

A style of hip-hop combining the lyrical themes of gangsta rap with music influenced by P-funk, originating in Los Angeles in the 1990s and…

Sampladelic music. Cf. sampladelic, adj.

A genre of dance music, usually slow in tempo, that combines elements of hip-hop (esp. rapping and scratching) with softer, more melodic elements…

Music (originally British). In plural = breakbeat, n. 2.

= psychedelic trance, n.

Any of these styles of music. Cf. new school, n. 3, old school, n. 2.

A style of popular music incorporating elements of folk and electronic music, typically characterized by the use of electronic rhythms and acoustic…

A genre of (usually instrumental) dance music typically featuring a sparse, syncopated rhythm and a prominent, propulsive bassline. Cf. two-step n.…

A style of music originating in Tanzania, combining elements of American hip-hop with influences from reggae, R&B, Afrobeat, dancehall, and…

A genre of popular music originating in east London, influenced by UK garage, dancehall, and hip-hop, and typically characterized by a minimal…

A style of hip-hop music originating in Tanzania; = Bongo Flava, n. Often as a modifier, esp. in Bongo music.

A style of fast-paced electronic dance music originating in Tanzania, combining elements of hip-hop with influences from East African popular music…