jazz
jazz Lexical Profile
jazz Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A genre of music that originated in the African American communities of New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call-and-response vocals, polyrhythms, and improvisation.
"They spent the evening at a downtown club listening to a quartet play live jazz."
An energetic, theatrical style of modern dance originally developed alongside jazz music, featuring sharp movements, syncopated rhythms, and physical isolation of body parts.
"She enrolled in classes for ballet, tap, and jazz at the local dance studio."
Enthusiastic energy, vitality, liveliness, or spirit; also used informally to refer to miscellaneous related things or pretentious talk.
"We need to pack tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, and all that jazz for the camping trip."
• verb
To make something more lively, colorful, appealing, or exciting (usually used with 'up').
"The designer decided to jazz up the plain living room with bright throw pillows and modern artwork."
To play or arrange a piece of music in the style of jazz.
"The band liked to jazz classical melodies during their late-night jam sessions."
• Rhymes for jazz
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Originating in early 20th-century American slang (originally spelled 'jasm' in the 1860s meaning 'energy' or 'vitality'), the word was adopted on the West Coast around 1912 to mean 'pep' or 'enthusiasm' before being applied to the musical genre in Chicago and New Orleans around 1915.