noun
jazz
jaz
noun
1
A musical style rooted in African American tradition, marked by improvisation, syncopation, and swing rhythms.
"They spent the evening listening to live jazz in a smoky club."
"Miles Davis changed the direction of jazz in the 1950s."
2
Informal: excitement, energy, or flashy extra detail added to something.
"Cut the fancy jazz and just tell me what happened."
verb
1
To make something more lively, colourful, or exciting.
"They jazzed up the presentation with some animations."
How to Use Jazz
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe music genre, or informally, any flashy extra energy added to something.
Common pairings
jazz up
jazz music
jazz club
all that jazz
Word Forms
jazzed past tense, jazzes plural, jazzes singular
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They spent the evening listening to live _____ in a smoky club.
Etymology
Origin unknown — first recorded around 1912 in baseball slang before it was applied to music a few years later.