DJ

1 of 3

noun

ˈdē-ˌjā 

plural DJs

: disc jockey

When they [the Beatles] arrived in the U.S. in 1964, John Lennon spent his first night in New York in his hotel room, calling up radio DJs and asking them to play the Ronettes.

—Rob Sheffield

A hip-hop DJ's roles can be multi-faceted: finding the music for dancing, playing the popular tracks, being the rapper's background band, having, maintaining, and providing the equipment, producing the beats, and not least improvising instrumental solos.

—Kjetil Falkenberg Hansen

—sometimes used as a title in the stage names of disc jockeys

Jeffrey Allen Townes, better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, is a producer, deejay and actor …

—Greg Bishop

DJ

2 of 3

verb

DJed also DJ'd; DJing; DJs

transitive + intransitive

: to perform the role of a disc jockey : to act as a DJ for

Snoop Dogg has revealed that he turned down [an] offer to DJ a party for Michael Jordan.

—Will Lavin

The distinctiveness of DJing in hip hop started with the development of adroit techniques on two turntables.

—Patrick Rivers

There was a festive vibe as [Herman] Matfes DJ'd the event with fun Hanukkah and holiday music.

—Lani Mustacchi

… Paris Hilton DJed a New Year's Eve party on her own virtual island this year.

—Brad Thomas

DJ

3 of 3

abbreviation

1

district judge

2

doctor of jurisprudence

3

dust jacket

Examples of DJ in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

With Chisholm out of the game, the Yankees shifted Oswald Peraza to third base, with DJ LeMahieu filling in at second. —Johnny Flores Jr, New York Times, 25 June 2025

Through 33 games, DJ LeMahieu is slashing .245/.321/.337 and has not been the best defensively. —Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025

This season, though, not only is sophomore DJ Lagway a rising star, but Napier appears to have found his footing entering Year 4 in the SEC and the Gators’ roster is the best it’s been in some time. —Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 June 2025

Vanessa Ramirez, who performs as DJ NE$, will be returning for her third year at Boulevardia. —J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 13 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1946, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1948, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

DJ

noun

ˈdē-ˌjā

often not capitalized

: disc jockey