rumba
Americannoun
plural
rumbas-
a dance, Cuban in origin and complex in rhythm.
-
an imitation or adaptation of this dance in the United States.
-
music for this dance or in its rhythm.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a rhythmic and syncopated Cuban dance in duple time
-
a ballroom dance derived from this
-
a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance
Etymology
Origin of rumba
First recorded in 1910–15; from Latin American Spanish (Cuba): literally, “party; spree,” from Spanish rumbo “commotion, uproar,” earlier “ostentation, pomp”; further origin uncertain
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.
Having made UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2021, rumba stands as a source of intense national pride in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as across the border in Congo-Brazzaville.
From Barron's
Back in the actual 1990s, ice dancers cycled through traditional dances: samba, blues, polka, rumba, quickstep, tango, jive, paso doble, Viennese waltz.
Xavier Cugat, “king of the rumba,” nevertheless hired him, and Bing Crosby advocated for him.
From Los Angeles Times
The music, which also spotlights the role of Congolese rumba in pan-African liberation, functions not as mere soundtrack but what Grimonprez calls a “historical agent.”
From Los Angeles Times
We also get a broad, electrifying sampling of the era’s freedom jams, be they from our shore’s turntables and radios or the African rumba scene.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
