Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense jazzes, present participle jazzing, past tense, past participle jazzed
uncountable noun [oft NOUN noun]
Jazz is a style of music that was invented by African American musicians in the early part of the twentieth century. Jazz music has very strong rhythms and often involves improvisation.
The pub has live jazz on Sundays.
Phrasal verbs:
See jazz up
jazz in British English
(dʒæz)
noun
1.
a.
a kind of music of African-American origin, characterized by syncopated rhythms, solo and group improvisation, and a variety of harmonic idioms and instrumental techniques. It exists in a number of styles
Compare blues, See also bebop, bop1 (sense 1), Dixieland, free (sense 7), hard bop, harmolodics, mainstream (sense 2), modern jazz, New Orleans jazz, swing (sense 28), trad
b.
(as modifier)
a jazz band
c.
(in combination)
a jazzman
2. informal
enthusiasm or liveliness
3. slang
rigmarole; paraphernalia
legal papers and all that jazz
4. African-American slang, obsolete
sexual intercourse
5. South Africa slang
a dance
verb
6. (intransitive)
to play or dance to jazz music
7. African-American slang, obsolete
to have sexual intercourse with (a person)
Derived forms
jazzer (ˈjazzer)
noun
Word origin
C20: of unknown origin
jazz in American English
(dʒæz)
US
noun
1.
a kind of music, originally improvised but now also arranged, characterized by syncopation, rubato, usually heavily accented rhythms, dissonances, individualized melodic variations, and unusual tonal effects on the trumpet, trombone, clarinet, saxophone, etc.: it originated with Southern blacks in the late 19th cent.
see also swing, bop2
2. Slang
a quality reminiscent of jazz music; lively spirit
3. Slang
remarks, acts, concepts, etc. regarded as hypocritical, tiresome, trite, pretentious, etc.
adjective
4.
of, in, like, or having to do with jazz
verb transitive
5.
to speed up
6. Slang
to fill with jazz qualities; make exciting or elaborate; enliven or embellish
usually with up
verb intransitive
7. Slang
to move or behave in a lively or carefree way
Word origin
etym. uncert.: < ? Creole patois jass, sexual term applied to the Congo dances (New Orleans)
Examples of 'jazz' in a sentence
jazz
Her politically charged musings are set to a sultry jazz instrumental.
The Sun (2016)
Both were into jazz music, dancing and international politics.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He also came to see her perform at a jazz club in Chelsea.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
It was me who looked away and walked out into the cool night air towards the lively noise of chatter and a jazz band.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It's a pretty collection of jazz and blues covers set to a simple guitar and upright bass setting.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
A jazz musician might, typically, improvise over a background riff played by other members of the band.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He shows her the stool as if it is a precious museum relic, explaining how one day he'd like to open his own jazz club.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
His large library included books and photographs and extended to jazz and blues recordings.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He was a great jazz pianist playing completely by ear and without music.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Too many jazz musicians are playing by rote.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
My spin and jazz dance classes are great.
The Sun (2006)
This sassy jazz number is an impressive arrangement but lacks momentum.
The Sun (2015)
They normally do experimental concerts to smallish audiences in jazz clubs.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He was fond of early jazz and a good dram.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
On board there are lectures from a jazz expert and live performances.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Then there was jazz and popular music.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The party began once we filed through the turnstiles and heard a jazz band playing.
The Sun (2006)
He smiles and says he would rather kill himself than play another tribute show to a dead jazz great.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
My dad is a jazz musician.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Jazz meant improvisation, and both players and audiences experienced in it a kind of liberation.
Garraty, John Arthur The American Nation: A History of the United States to 1877 (1995)
Jazz, blues and modern standards from the polished vocalist.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
She talks about growing up in a house full of jazz musicians in Harlem.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
By the time he reached the sixth form at school he had taught himself the clarinet, and formed a small jazz band.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Pop's most playful duo are back with the ideal summertime single, jazz solo and all.
The Sun (2014)
She has a pretty good singing voice, too, performing a slow jazz number at the party.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In other languages
jazz
British English: jazz /dʒæz/ NOUN
Jazz is a style of music invented by black American musicians in the early part of the twentieth century. It has very strong rhythms and the musicians often improvise.
The club plays live jazz on Sundays.
American English: jazz
Arabic: مُوسِيقِى الـجَّازُ
Brazilian Portuguese: jazz
Chinese: 爵士乐
Croatian: džez
Czech: jazz
Danish: jazz
Dutch: jazz
European Spanish: jazz
Finnish: jazz
French: jazz
German: Jazz
Greek: τζαζ
Italian: jazz
Japanese: ジャズ
Korean: 재즈
Norwegian: jazz
Polish: jazz
European Portuguese: jazz
Romanian: jaz
Russian: джаз
Latin American Spanish: jazz
Swedish: jazz
Thai: ดนตรีแจ๊ส
Turkish: caz
Ukrainian: джаз
Vietnamese: nhạc jazz
All related terms of 'jazz'
jazz up
If you jazz something up , you make it look more interesting, colourful , or exciting .
acid jazz
a type of music, popular in the 1980s and 1990s, that combines jazz with genres such as funk , hip-hop , and electronic dance music
cool jazz
a restrained , fluid modern-jazz style of the 1950s, marked by intricate harmonic structures, de-emphasized dynamics , and carefully controlled phrasing and ensemble playing, often with a slight lagging behind the beat
free jazz
a style of jazz in which improvization is dominant
hot jazz
jazz which is extremely emotionally intense and features a lot of improvisation
jazz age
a period of U.S. history in the 1920s noted for general prosperity , financial speculation , Prohibition , the emergence of organized crime , profound social, cultural , and literary change, and the influence of jazz
jazz band
a group of jazz musicians
jazz club
a place where people meet to listen to jazz music
jazz mag
a pornographic magazine
jazz rock
a style of music that combines jazz and rock
jazz shoe
a man's plain , close-fitting , low-heeled oxford made of soft leather or other material and having a thin, flexible sole , worn for jazz dancing
trad jazz
a kind of jazz based on the jazz that was played in the 1920s
jazz ballet
ballet danced to jazz music
jazz hands
a movement in modern dance in which a performer shakes both hands rapidly with the palms facing forwards and the fingers extended
jazz singer
a singer whose vocal technique is similar to that of a musical instrument, and whose singing has a strong jazz feeling, chiefly imparted through phrasing, melodic improvisation , and rhythmic subtlety
modern jazz
any of the styles of jazz that evolved between the early 1940s and the later emergence of avant-garde jazz, characterized by a greater harmonic and rhythmic complexity than hitherto
the jazz age
(esp in the US) the period between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Depression during which jazz became popular
progressive jazz
an experimental , nonmelodic, and often free-flowing style of modern jazz , esp. in the form of highly dissonant , rhythmically complex orchestral arrangements
barrel-house jazz
a cheap and disreputable drinking establishment
New Orleans jazz
the jazz originating in New Orleans from about 1914; traditional jazz
West Coast jazz
a type of cool jazz displaying a soft intimate sound, regular rhythms , and a tendency to incorporate academic classical devices into jazz, such as fugue
Chinese translation of 'jazz'
jazz
(dʒæz)
n(u)
(Mus) 爵士乐(樂) (juéshìyuè)
and all that jazz (inf) 诸(諸)如此类(類)的事情 (zhū rú cǐ lèi de shìqing)