folk music
noun
: the traditional music of the people in a country or region
Irish folk music
also
: a type of popular music that is based on traditional music and that does not use electric instruments
Examples of folk music in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His score blends American folk music; the sounds of banjos and pianos along with orchestral strings.
—
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 22 Dec. 2025
By the late 1940s and early 1950s, the party redirected massive state resources toward reshaping folk music into a polished, modernized national symbol, staging folklore as proof of unity and continuity.
—Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 21 Dec. 2025
Our nightly entertainment included folk music and coordinated line dancing, made all the more fun with a nightcap (or three).
—Jake Emen, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025
Crew members rushed about, tending to the set’s various optical illusions, which included an Escher-like maze of stairwells, some real, some painted on a matte board, and two performers, playing Chinese folk music, who on closer inspection turned out to be a pair of paper cutouts.
—Dennis Zhou, New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for folk music
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 22 Dec. 2025
By the late 1940s and early 1950s, the party redirected massive state resources toward reshaping folk music into a polished, modernized national symbol, staging folklore as proof of unity and continuity.
—Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 21 Dec. 2025
Our nightly entertainment included folk music and coordinated line dancing, made all the more fun with a nightcap (or three).
—Jake Emen, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025
Crew members rushed about, tending to the set’s various optical illusions, which included an Escher-like maze of stairwells, some real, some painted on a matte board, and two performers, playing Chinese folk music, who on closer inspection turned out to be a pair of paper cutouts.
—Dennis Zhou, New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for folk music
Cite this Entry
“Folk music.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folk%20music. Accessed 4 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share