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DictionarymamboCuban dance
noun / verb

mambo

MAM-boh/ˈmæmbəʊ/

A lively rhythmic dance originating in Cuba.

The partners mambo forward and back as a musician plays the trumpet.

A lively mambo dance performance: partners execute a complementary forward-and-back break in open hold while conga percussion and an actively played trumpet reinforce the Cuban dance-music context.
Etymology
mamboAmerican Spanishlively dance

American Spanish mambo names the lively dance. Webster reportedly connects it with a Haitian Creole word for a voodoo priestess, but the supplied evidence does not explain that meaning change.

In context

History Of Latin Cultures2:47
the influence of Mambo and Latin jazz on salsa dance is multifaceted Mambo provided the foundational steps and rhythmic patterns while Latin jazz added a layer of sophistication
How Did Mambo and Latin Jazz Influence Salsa Dance? - History Of Latin Cultures

More examples

  • We learn the mambo in our Cuban dance class.
  • They mamboed together at the neighborhood dance.
  • The band plays a mambo that gets everyone on the dance floor.

Forms

mambo · mambos · mamboed · mamboing

Similar words

salsa
A related partner dance with different steps and timing conventions.
cha-cha
A related Cuban dance distinguished by its triple-step pattern.