emcee

1 of 2

noun

em·​cee ˌem-ˈsē 

plural emcees

1

: master of ceremonies

especially : a person who acts as host for a program of entertainment

The emcee primes the crowd and rock music pulses, bolstered by lasers and fireworks.

—Allison Glock

2

: a performer of rap music : rapper

… MC Lyte, the first female hip-hop emcee to release a solo album …

—Deena Zaru

emcee

2 of 2

verb

emceed; emceeing; emcees

transitive + intransitive

1

: to perform the role of a master of ceremonies : to act as emcee for

emceed an awards dinner

… he reports that one week after the surgery he was back emceeing at the Improv …

—Roger Friedman

2

: to perform rap music : rap

… [DMX's] love of hip-hop—from production to emceeing—built his name as an underground force in New York City.

—Kevin L. Clark

… [Lauryn] Hill was so wildly proficient at singing and emceeing …

—Clover Hope

The Hulu personality [Khloé Kardashian] followed up by emceeing her own verse, rapping, "Then my birthday is in June / And I'm gonna need you to help me make my cake, too."

—Kat Pettibone

Synonyms

Noun

• announcer
• host
• MC

Examples of emcee in a Sentence

Noun

acted as emcee for the evening's entertainment at the political convention

Verb

She agreed to emcee at an awards dinner.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Pair these with near-instant IG story responses, the cacophony of fan reaction TikToks, diss track dance battles, and podcast debates, and there’s much more than words on a track setting the cadence and temperature of each emcee’s responses. —Rivea Ruff, Essence, 7 May 2024

According to Variety, Minhaj served as the emcee of one of the fest’s stand-up showcases, with current Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng also on the bill. —Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

MC

First Known Use

Noun

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1937, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

emcee

1 of 2 noun

em·​cee ˈem-ˈsē 

: master of ceremonies

emcee

2 of 2 verb

emceed; emceeing

: to act as master of ceremonies for something : host

emcee a television show

Etymology

Noun

an altered form of M.C., from master of ceremonies