RUMBA Definition & Meaning

rumba

[ ruhm-buh, room-, room- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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)

rumbaed rumbaing

to dance the rumba.

rumba

/ ˈrʌmbə; ˈrʊm- /

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

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of rumba¹

First recorded in 1910–15; from Latin American Spanish (Cuba): literally, “party; spree,” from Spanish rumbo “commotion, uproar,” earlier “ostentation, pomp”; further origin uncertain

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of rumba¹

C20: from Spanish: lavish display, of uncertain origin

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

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

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

But every night, no matter the circumstances, the percussive sounds of rumba filled her childhood home.

From

Arocena, 32, grew up in Santos Suárez, a neighborhood in Havana, with a family immersed in rumba folklore so passionately that they turned household objects into musical instruments.

From

Soon she was, as she writes, “out on the dance floor fusing my ballet training with the salsa, mambo and rumba steps I was learning.”

From

Browse