boogie-woogie

noun

boo·​gie-woo·​gie ˌbu̇-gē-ˈwu̇-gē How to pronounce boogie-woogie (audio)
ˌbü-gē-ˈwü-gē
: a percussive style of playing blues on the piano characterized by a steady rhythmic ground bass of eighth notes in quadruple time and a series of improvised melodic variations

Examples of boogie-woogie in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The duo will perform jazz classics, boogie-woogie and show tunes. San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2025 Recordings cover the entire musical spectrum, including jazz, blues, ragtime, bluegrass, boogie-woogie, country, rock and pop. Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 11 May 2025 Scents of jazz, blues, Dixieland, boogie-woogie, soft-shoe, calypso, rag and rumba waft by in catchy new arrangements. Jesse Green, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025 One of our subjects is a packinghouse worker who loved playing boogie-woogie on the piano. Monica Eng, Axios, 29 Jan. 2025 His mother was an avid singer of spirituals, and a next-door neighbor, Lucy Jackson, helped Jones learn to tap out boogie-woogie on the keyboard. Steve Marble, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024 In that symbolic space, sounds like bluegrass, boogie-woogie, electric blues, jump blues, and Western swing exist. Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 22 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of boogie-woogie was in 1928

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Cite this Entry

“Boogie-woogie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boogie-woogie. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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