big band

noun

: a band that is larger than a combo and that usually features a mixture of ensemble playing and solo improvisation typical of jazz or swing

Examples of big band in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The bold use of the synth as a sort of ticking clock before an outbreak of violence shaped the sound of the genre – and helped put the knife in the traditional big band sound. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025

This year, starting in June, there has been a mix of mambo, funk, soul, brass band big band and more. —The Know, Denver Post, 15 Aug. 2025

One of the state’s premiere big band jazz ensembles, the 17-piece New London Big Band, closes the festival on Aug. 17 at 7:30 p.m. on Guilford Green Stage One. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2025

The program will feature music from Broadway and the movies, including selections from Wicked, How to Train Your Dragon, Cowboys and West Side Story along with some blues, marches and big band favorites. —Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for big band

• armband
• backhand
• bandstand
• baseband
• broadband
• command
• cropland
• demand
• disband
• dreamland
• expand
• farmhand