First Known Use: 1913
Dictionary
1jazz
noun, often attributive \ˈjaz\
: a type of American music with lively rhythms and melodies that are often made up by musicians as they play
: meaningless or foolish talk
: similar things
Full Definition of JAZZ
1
a : American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre b : popular dance music influenced by jazz and played in a loud rhythmic manner
2
: empty talk : humbug <spouted all the scientific jazz — Pete Martin>
3
: similar but unspecified things : stuff <that wind, and the waves, and all that jazz — John Updike>
— jazz·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective
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Origin of JAZZ
origin unknown
Related to JAZZ
- Synonyms
- applesauce [slang], balderdash, baloney (also boloney), beans, bilge, blah (also blah-blah), blarney, blather, blatherskite, blither, bosh, bull [slang], bunk, bunkum (or buncombe), claptrap, codswallop [British], crapola [slang], crock, drivel, drool, fiddle, fiddle-faddle, fiddlesticks, flannel [British], flapdoodle, folderol (also falderal), folly, foolishness, fudge, garbage, guff, hogwash, hokeypokey, hokum, hoodoo, hooey, horsefeathers [slang], humbug, humbuggery, nonsense, malarkey (also malarky), moonshine, muck, nerts [slang], nuts, piffle, poppycock, punk, rot, rubbish, senselessness, silliness, slush, stupidity, taradiddle (or tarradiddle), tommyrot, tosh, trash, trumpery, twaddle
2jazz
verb
Definition of JAZZ
transitive verb
1
: to play in the manner of jazz
2
a : enliven —usually used with up b : accelerate
intransitive verb
1
: to go here and there : gad
2
: to dance to or play jazz
See jazz defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of JAZZ
1915
JAZZ[1] Defined for Kids
jazz
noun \ˈjaz\
Definition of JAZZ for Kids
: a type of American music with lively rhythms and melodies that are often made up by musicians as they play
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