1
a
: glib, deceptive, or foolish talk
tired of listening to his jive
b
: the jargon of hipsters
c
: a special jargon of difficult or slang terms
street jive
2
: swing music or the dancing performed to it
jived; jiving
1
: to say foolish, deceptive, or unserious things to (someone)
He's jiving you.
2
1
: to talk in a foolish, deceptive, or unserious way : to talk jive (see jive entry 1 sense 1)
He's just jiving.
2
: to dance to or play jive (see jive entry 1 sense 2)
slang
: phony
if you are late getting to heaven, you will give Saint Peter some jive excuse—
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
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Jive vs. Jibe
People began confusing jive and jibe almost immediately after jive entered our language in the late 1920s. In particular, jive is often used as a variant for the sense of jibe meaning “agree,” as in “that doesn’t jive with my memory of what happened.” This use of jive, although increasingly common, is widely considered to be an error. Jibe, however, is accepted as a variant spelling of an entirely different word, which is gibe (“to utter taunting words”).
Synonyms
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Examples of jive in a Sentence
Noun
She grew up talking street jive.
I'm tired of listening to your jive.
Verb
I know he's just jiving me.
Don't take him seriously—he's just jiving.
Everyone was jiving to the beat.
Adjective
don't give me that jive talk about me being your new best friend
Recent Examples on the Web
Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Sep. 2024
If chlorine pools and water parks aren't your jive, there are plenty of swimming holes around Arizona that are begging to be explored.
—Meredith G. White, The Arizona Republic, 22 June 2024
Calie Schepp, EW.com, 9 Oct. 2024
When reality doesn’t jive with her desires (see also: Shauna’s early acceptance to Brown), no one dares shatter her illusions.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
EW.com, 2 Oct. 2024
For their first performances, the celebrity and pro duos' dances ran the gamut from the tango, to the cha-cha, salsa, foxtrot, and jive.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 18 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jive 
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Noun
Season 33 promises to be another unpredictable round of cha-cha-chas, jives, waltzes, foxtrots, and more.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Sep. 2024
If chlorine pools and water parks aren't your jive, there are plenty of swimming holes around Arizona that are begging to be explored.
—Meredith G. White, The Arizona Republic, 22 June 2024
Verb
Ready or not, the Dancing With the Stars competitors are jamming, jiving, and foxtrotting in full throttle.
—Calie Schepp, EW.com, 9 Oct. 2024
When reality doesn’t jive with her desires (see also: Shauna’s early acceptance to Brown), no one dares shatter her illusions.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
Adjective
Amanda Seyfried is down to dance, jive, and have the time of her life with Sabrina Carpenter in a third Mamma Mia film.
—EW.com, 2 Oct. 2024
For their first performances, the celebrity and pro duos' dances ran the gamut from the tango, to the cha-cha, salsa, foxtrot, and jive.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 18 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jive
Articles Related to jive
Dictionary Entries Near jive
Cite this Entry
“Jive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jive. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
jive
1 of 2 noun1
: swing music or dancing performed to it
2
a
: glib, deceptive, or foolish talk
b
: a special jargon of difficult or slang terms
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