Definition

1. Noun:

   • A genre of music: A style of music that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, USA, around the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms, and improvisation.
   • Empty or exaggerated talk: Insincere, boastful, or nonsensical talk; meaningless chatter.

2. Verb:

   • To play in the style of jazz: To perform or arrange music with the rhythms, harmonies, and improvisational style characteristic of jazz.
   • (Vulgar slang) To have sexual intercourse with: A coarse, informal term for engaging in sexual activity.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Music):
  • Louis Armstrong is a legendary figure in the history of jazz.
  • The club features live jazz every Friday night.
• Noun (Talk):
  • He gave me some jazz about his car breaking down, but I didn't believe him.
  • Ignore his excuses; it's all just jazz.
• Verb (Music):
  • The pianist decided to jazz up the old hymn.
  • Can you jazz this melody for the final chorus?
• Verb (Slang):
  • The crude expression is rarely used in polite conversation.

Advanced Usage

• "And all that jazz": An informal idiom meaning "and other similar things" or "and so on."
  • The conference covered marketing, social media, branding, and all that jazz.

Variants and Related Words

• Jazzy (adjective): Resembling or characteristic of jazz music; flashy or lively.
  • She wore a jazzy dress to the party.
• Jazz up (phrasal verb): To make something more lively, exciting, or interesting.
  • Let's jazz up the presentation with some new graphics.

Synonyms

• Noun (Music): Swing, bebop, blues (as a related genre).
• Noun (Talk): Nonsense, baloney, gibberish, hot air.
• Verb (Music): Improvise, syncopate, swing.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Jazz up: To make more exciting or attractive.
  • We need to jazz up the website to attract younger customers.

Related Idioms

• "And all that jazz": And other things of that kind; et cetera.
  • They served sandwiches, drinks, and all that jazz at the meeting.

Noun

1. a style of dance music popular in the 1920s; similar to New Orleans jazz but played by large bands
2. a genre of popular music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and developed through increasingly complex styles
3. empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk
   • that's a lot of wind
   • don't give me any of that jazz

Verb

1. have sexual intercourse with
   • This student sleeps with everyone in her dorm
   • Adam knew Eve
   • Were you ever intimate with this man?
2. play something in the style of jazz