samba
samba — noun
1. A fast, rhythmic dance that began in Brazil, often performed at festivals such a
A fast, rhythmic dance that began in Brazil, often performed at festivals such as Carnival, together with the style of music that accompanies this dance.
The dancers rehearsed their samba routine every evening for the Rio Carnival parade.
collocation: samba routine / Carnival parade
A cheerful samba played from the radio while Gita cleaned her apartment.
Kenji bought tickets to watch the samba competition at the local festival.
The fast samba beats made everyone in the restaurant tap their feet.
Élise learned the basic samba steps from a dance teacher in São Paulo.
- bossa nova
A related Brazilian dance style that is slower and smoother than samba, with a different rhythmic pattern
- carnival dance
A broader term for any dance performed at Carnival celebrations, of which samba is the most famous example
文法句型
a/the + samba (countable)
samba + music/rhythm/beat (uncountable modifier)
用法筆記
Unlike 'tango' or 'waltz', 'samba' can refer to both the dance and the music style. When used as an uncountable noun ('samba music', 'the rhythm of samba'), it describes the genre rather than a specific performance.
samba — verb
1. To perform the samba, moving your body with fast, rhythmic steps that follow the
To perform the samba, moving your body with fast, rhythmic steps that follow the characteristic beat of this Brazilian dance.
The couple sambaed gracefully across the ballroom during the final performance.
collocation: samba + across + [location]; manner adverb
With colorful costumes and feathers, the children sambaed down the Carnival street.
Chiara wants to samba at the Carnival parade next February.
Bilal watched the professional dancers samba and then tried to copy their moves.
The performers sambaed all night long to the sound of drums and tambourines.
文法句型
samba (no object)
samba + adverb/prepositional phrase
用法筆記
The past tense 'sambaed' is standard. This verb is almost always used to describe dancing in a celebratory, performance, or street-parade context.