: popular music of Jamaican origin that combines elements of traditional Caribbean rhythms and jazz

Examples of ska in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Sublime With Rome — which currently has no members of the original ska band — is embarking on a farewell tour. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024 Starring Michelle Dockery, Nicholas Pinnock and David Dawson, the story of a family and four young people drawn into Coventry and Birmingham’s exploding ska and two-tone music scene in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Marta Balaga, Variety, 22 Feb. 2024 The Slackers and Mustard Plug at the Black Cat Third-wave ska was a staple of alt-rock radio and venue stages in the ’90s. Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023 Meanwhile, my oldest brother would be playing ska and reggae. Simon Reynolds, Pitchfork, 27 Sep. 2023 Founded by Posen as an excuse to release a seven-inch by the band Guttermouth, the label spent much of the ’90s catering to pop-punk and ska fans with a short roster that included 88 Fingers Louie, Dillinger Four and Mustard Plug. Paul Grein, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2024 Back then, according to Wells, headlining ska bands like Fishbone, who No Doubt would open for, would catch their set just to watch Spence. Stephanie Mendez, SPIN, 2 Feb. 2024 The family saga/high-stakes thriller is set in the working-class neighborhoods of Coventry and Birmingham during the late 1970s, when Black, white and Asian youths were united in their love of ska and two-tone music. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Oct. 2023 The band of brothers from the Mexico City suburb of Naucalpan is a rebellious bunch that brings such influences as the Misfits, Johnny Cash and the Ramones into its mix of traditional cumbia and marimba with hints of ska, garage and psychobilly. Kamren Curiel, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ska.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

perhaps alteration of scat entry 3

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ska was in 1963

Dictionary Entries Near ska

Cite this Entry

“Ska.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ska. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ska

noun
: popular music of Jamaican origin that combines elements of traditional Caribbean rhythms and jazz
Etymology

perhaps an alteration of scat "jazz singing with meaningless syllables"

More from Merriam-Webster on ska

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