variants
or less commonly rhumba
: a ballroom dance of Cuban origin in ²/₄ or ⁴/₄ time with a basic pattern of step-close-step and marked by a delayed transfer of weight and pronounced hip movements
also
: the music for this dance
Examples of rumba in a Sentence
The band played a rumba.
Recent Examples on the Web
First up was Harry and Rylee vs. Alyson and Sasha with a head to head rumba.
—
EW.com, 14 Nov. 2023
From his sprinting up to the cheap seats rumba line entrance with old pal host Jimmy Fallon, to a greatest hits run classroom instruments bit, Timberlake seemed eager to kick off his EITIW era after several years of being mostly off the radar.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 26 Jan. 2024
The influence of Cuban rumba elements in the local Congolese music and dance particularly the maringa, which had basic movements in common with the Cuban rumba, resulted in the emergence of the modern Congolese rumba in the 1950s.
—Uwagbale Edward-Ekpu, Quartz, 21 Dec. 2021
Monday's rumba marked a vast improvement for Slater and Donovan.
—Dory Jackson, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2022
Earning the nickname the King of Latin Music, the multi-hyphenate musician put Caribbean styles — including mambo, salsa, boogaloo, cha-cha-cha, rumba, guaracha and Afro-Cuban jazz — on the global map.
—Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 20 Apr. 2023
Foxtrot, waltz, tango, rumba, bolero, cha-cha — anyone who visits the VietAID social hall in Fields Corner can learn.
—Robert Weisman, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Mar. 2023
Cha cha is such a hard dance to learn, and so is the rumba.
—Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2022
Some enter competitions, instructors say, but most are there simply to learn the rumba, cha-cha, tango, waltz, salsa or fox trot.
—Livia Albeck-Ripka, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2023
EW.com, 14 Nov. 2023
From his sprinting up to the cheap seats rumba line entrance with old pal host Jimmy Fallon, to a greatest hits run classroom instruments bit, Timberlake seemed eager to kick off his EITIW era after several years of being mostly off the radar.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 26 Jan. 2024
The influence of Cuban rumba elements in the local Congolese music and dance particularly the maringa, which had basic movements in common with the Cuban rumba, resulted in the emergence of the modern Congolese rumba in the 1950s.
—Uwagbale Edward-Ekpu, Quartz, 21 Dec. 2021
Monday's rumba marked a vast improvement for Slater and Donovan.
—Dory Jackson, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2022
Earning the nickname the King of Latin Music, the multi-hyphenate musician put Caribbean styles — including mambo, salsa, boogaloo, cha-cha-cha, rumba, guaracha and Afro-Cuban jazz — on the global map.
—Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 20 Apr. 2023
Foxtrot, waltz, tango, rumba, bolero, cha-cha — anyone who visits the VietAID social hall in Fields Corner can learn.
—Robert Weisman, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Mar. 2023
Cha cha is such a hard dance to learn, and so is the rumba.
—Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2022
Some enter competitions, instructors say, but most are there simply to learn the rumba, cha-cha, tango, waltz, salsa or fox trot.
—Livia Albeck-Ripka, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rumba.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near rumba
Cite this Entry
“Rumba.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rumba. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rumba
noun
rum·ba
ˈrəm-bə 
ˈru̇m-
: a dance of Cuban origin
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