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
: jazz dance
takes classes in ballet, tap, and jazz
… No, jazz dance is not dead. Jazz in the twenty-first century is a mix of roots and fruits of the form, traditions, progressions, and transgressions.—
Melanie George
—often used before another nounMelanie Georgea jazz dancer
jazz choreography
3
: similar but unspecified things : stuff
I love the life of the open sea. It's so … free, that wind, and the waves, and all that jazz.—John Updike
John Updike4
: empty talk : nonsense sense 1b(1)
Don't give me that jazz about guys still fighting for jobs. Please. If it's this close to the regular season and you're still fighting for a roster spot … your odds of having a long NFL career are less than slim.—Tom Jones
Tom JonesSynonyms
Noun
- applesauce [slang]
- balderdash
- baloney
- boloney
- beans
- bilge
- blah
- blah-blah
- blarney
- blather
- blatherskite
- blither
- bosh
- bull [slang]
- bunk
- bunkum
- buncombe
- claptrap
- codswallop [British]
- crapola [slang]
- crock
- drivel
- drool
- fiddle
- fiddle-faddle
- fiddlesticks
- flannel [British]
- flapdoodle
- folderol
- falderal
- folly
- foolishness
- fudge
- garbage
- guff
- hogwash
- hokeypokey
- hokum
- hoodoo
- hooey
- horsefeathers [slang]
- humbug
- humbuggery
- malarkey
- malarky
- moonshine
- muck
- nerts [slang]
- nonsense
- nuts
- piffle
- poppycock
- punk
- rot
- rubbish
- senselessness
- silliness
- slush
- stupidity
- taradiddle
- tarradiddle
- tommyrot
- tosh
- trash
- trumpery
- twaddle
Verb
Examples of jazz in a Sentence
Noun
What's all this jazz about you leaving?
She loves hiking, biking, and all that jazz.
Verb
your assignment is to jazz up the design of that Web page
Recent Examples on the Web
Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
In the recent Saturday Night movie, which mythologizes the series’ turbulent birth, Gabrielle LaBelle (playing a young Michaels) gives a speech about how SNL should feel like a wild night out in the city, all jazz and revelry.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
Jordan Hoffman, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2024
The album takes the acclaimed lyricist from the rap world to jazz as a woodwind artist, highlighting him as a flutist.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jazz 
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Noun
San Francisco singer Sandy Cressman has played that essential role for the São Paulo mother-and-daughter team of jazz pianist/composer Débora Gurgel and vocalist Dani Gurgel.
—Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
In the recent Saturday Night movie, which mythologizes the series’ turbulent birth, Gabrielle LaBelle (playing a young Michaels) gives a speech about how SNL should feel like a wild night out in the city, all jazz and revelry.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
Verb
This is a half-hour exploration that jazzes its way into atonal space, but Lesh never loses the groove.
—Jordan Hoffman, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2024
The album takes the acclaimed lyricist from the rap world to jazz as a woodwind artist, highlighting him as a flutist.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jazz
Dictionary Entries Near jazz
Cite this Entry
“Jazz.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jazz. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
jazz
2 of 2 verb1
: enliven
—usually used with up
2
: to play in the manner of jazz
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