jazz

JAZ/d͡ʒæz/

16 meanings of jazz

1
noununcountable
A kind of music that began with African American musicians, known for its swing feel and made-up solos.
Like a conversation in music, where players answer each other and make things up as they go.
They played jazz all night at the little club downtown.
She fell in love with jazz after hearing a live trumpet solo.
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2
verbtransitive
To make something more lively, bright, or exciting.
Like adding bright colors to a plain drawing to make it more fun to look at.
A few colorful posters can really jazz up a plain room.
They jazzed up the old recipe with fresh herbs and spices.
Similarenliven, brighten, liven, spice, spruce
Oppositedull, dampen, subdue
3
nounfigurativelyuncountable
Energy and excitement, or a lively, eager feeling.
Like the excited feeling you get on the morning of a fun trip.
The team played with real jazz in the final quarter.
There was so much jazz in her voice when she shared the news.
Similarenergy, zest, verve, pizzazz, spark
Oppositedullness, lethargy
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4
noununcountable
Talk or ideas that make no sense.
Like words that sound important but really say nothing at all.
Stop talking jazz and tell me what really happened.
He gave us some jazz about being too busy to help.
Similarnonsense, rubbish, baloney, bull, bunk
5
noununcountable
Things or stuff, especially of a kind you don't bother to name.
Like saying 'and stuff' when you don't want to name everything.
We packed our tents, food, and all that jazz for the trip.
The box was full of pens, paper, and other jazz from her desk.
Similarstuff, thingy, gizmo, gadget, gimmick
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6
verbintransitive
To play music in the jazz style.
The students learned to jazz on their school instruments.
He likes to jazz with friends in the garage on weekends.
Similarplay, jam, improvise, swing
7
verbintransitive
To dance to the sound of jazz music.
They jazzed all evening at the lively dance hall.
Couples like to jazz when the band picks up the tempo.
Similardance, jive, boogie, swing, bop
8
noununcountable
Something that is truly excellent and real, not fake.
Like the real thing instead of a cheap copy.
This wooden table is the real jazz, made by hand from fine oak.
When it comes to coffee, that little shop sells the real jazz.
Similardeal, McCoy, article
Oppositeimitation, fake
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9
verbslangtransitive
To break or ruin something completely.
Like knocking over a tower of blocks and wrecking it.
One bad storm can jazz a whole season's harvest.
He jazzed the engine by running it without oil.
Similarruin, wreck, destroy, spoil, scupper
Oppositesave, salvage, rescue
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10
verbslangtransitive
To make something harder or more complicated.
Like tying extra knots in a string that was already tangled.
New rules only jazz the simple sign-up process.
Too many cooks jazzed the plan for dinner.
Similarcomplicate, overcomplicate, clutter, encumber, muddle
Oppositesimplify, streamline
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Practice

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Origin

No one knows where this word comes from. It was first seen around 1912 about baseball, and around 1915 about music.