jive

noun \ ˈjīv \

Definition of jive

1 a :glib, deceptive, or foolish talk

tired of listening to his jive

b :the jargon of hipsters

c :a special jargon of difficult or slang terms

street jive

2 :swing music or the dancing performed to it

—

jivey

play \ˈjī-vē\ adjective

See jive defined for English-language learners

See jive defined for kids

Examples of jive in a Sentence

She grew up talking street jive.
I'm tired of listening to your jive.

Recent Examples of jive from the Web

Man accused of exposing himself at Keys beach Man jailed after doing the crazy hand jive at the beach, cops say Get the DUHtails at the Pensacola News-Journal.

— barbara hijek, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Naked man at beach waved at onlookers, swung his penis in a circular motion, officers say," 16 Aug. 2017
Buying the ideal home may seem like a smart idea, but does your dream home jive with your financial goals?

— jeff rose, USA TODAY, "Retirement: 8 financial choices you’ll regret in 5 years," 4 June 2017
This year's performers include Joe Louis Walker, Norman Jackson Band, Markey Blue and Eight O'Five Jive.

— mary colurso | mcolurso@al.com, AL.com, "Things to do in Birmingham, May 14-20," 14 May 2017
Score: (jive) four 9s for 36 and (trio) three 10s and one 9 for 39 and a total of 75 out of 80. 2.

— jacquie oliverius, The Mercury News, "‘Dancing With the Stars’: Bonner booted from ballroom, Normani is perfect (again)," 9 May 2017
Ross and Arnold danced the jive against NFL running back Rashad Jennings and partner Emma Slater.

— tracy swartz, chicagotribune.com, "Did Cubs' David Ross survive double elimination on 'Dancing with the Stars'?," 1 May 2017
Maddon meditates, laughs at himself, digs beatnik jive and many days offers a reasonable and entertaining facsimile of Jack Kerouac in cleats.

— michael powell, New York Times, "Cubs End 108-Year Wait for World Series Title, After a Little More Torment NOV. 3, 2016," 3 Nov. 2016
Haslet, 35, was a professional ballroom dancer who received a prosthetic blade to do the quickstep and the jive, and only then decided to take up running.

— the associated press, New York Times, "In Olympic Year, Boston Marathon Is Short on Americans," 18 Apr. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of jive

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1928

See Words from the same year

jive Synonyms

Synonyms

argot, cant, dialect, jargon, terminology, language, lingo, patois, patter, shop, shoptalk, slang, vocabulary

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, refrain, riff, segue

jive

verb

Definition of jive

jived; jiving

transitive verb

1 :to say foolish, deceptive, or unserious things to (someone)

He's jiving you.

2 :swing 5

intransitive verb

1 :to talk in a foolish, deceptive, or unserious way :to talk jive (see ¹jive 1)

He's just jiving.

2 :to dance to or play jive (see ¹jive 2)

See jive defined for English-language learners

Examples of jive in a Sentence

I know he's just jiving me.
Don't take him seriously—he's just jiving.
Everyone was jiving to the beat.

Recent Examples of jive from the Web

In a category of its own, in 2016, Laurie Hernandez jived to the theme on Dancing with the Stars.

— vanityfair.com, "The Story of the DuckTales Theme, History’s Catchiest Single Minute of Music," 9 Aug. 2017
In a category of its own, in 2016, Laurie Hernandez jived to the theme on Dancing with the Stars.

— darryn king, HWD, "The Story of the DuckTales Theme, History’s Catchiest Single Minute of Music," 9 Aug. 2017
Demonstrative celebrations of gayness have never jived much with my experience.

— jennifer gerson uffalussy, Allure, "LGBTQ+ Folks Share Stories of Their First Pride Celebrations," 23 June 2017
Earlier this week, Aurea chief executive Scott Brighton sought to assuage those concerns in an address to Jive employees.

— mike rogoway | the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "Jive Software faced growing investor pressure before its sale, turned down higher offer," 13 May 2017
On June 6, Aug. 1, Sept. 5 and the whole first week of July, different bartenders from throughout the city will also serve up special cocktails jiving with that evening’s theme.

— joseph hernandez, chicagotribune.com, "Drinking with Sue: Field Museum gets into the pop-up bar game with Base Camp," 12 May 2017
A swing band exists to set the crowd jumping and jiving, but while Mr. Blankenbuehler capitalizes on the period’s shoulder shrugs and swiveling hips, big dance numbers are few, short and subdued.

— alexis soloski, New York Times, "Review: Singing and Dancing the Postwar Blues in ‘Bandstand’," 26 Apr. 2017
The whole race course will be illuminated with on-course DJs to keep you jiving, and then at the finish line, there will be an explosive main stage.

— erica boniface, The Know, "The best Colorado road races and fun runs of 2017," 4 Mar. 2017

Origin and Etymology of jive

see ¹jive

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1928

See Words from the same year

jive Synonyms

Synonyms

chaff, tease, joke, josh, kid, rally, razz, rib, ride, roast

Related Words

banter; fool, fun, string along; jest, quip, wisecrack; gag, jape, jolly, yuk (or yuck) [slang]

jive

adjective

Definition of jive

slang

:phony

if you are late getting to heaven, you will give Saint Peter some jive excuse
—Langston Hughes

Examples of jive in a Sentence

don't give me that jive talk about me being your new best friend

Recent Examples of jive from the Web

Andrew Anglin is not regular, Milo Yiannopolous, shuck-and-jive evil.

— michael harriot, The Root, "The 2017 World Wypipo Tournament, Final Round: Who Is the Worst of the Worst?," 1 Aug. 2017
So, how this is going to work: The high scorers get to pick their dance-off opponent and the low scorers get to pick the dance style, choosing from cha cha, jive, or rumba.

— amy watts, baltimoresun.com, "'Dancing With the Stars' recap: Dance-off leads to double elimination on Movie Night," 2 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of jive

see ¹jive

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1953

See Words from the same year

jive Synonyms

Synonyms

artificial, backhanded, counterfeit, double, double-dealing, double-faced, fake, feigned, hypocritical, Janus-faced, insincere [slang], left-handed, lip, mealy, mealymouthed, Pecksniffian, phony (also phoney), phony-baloney (or phoney-baloney), pretended, two-faced, unctuous

Antonyms

artless, candid, genuine, heartfelt, honest, sincere, undesigning, unfeigned

Related Words

affected, assumed, claptrap, contrived, forced, mechanical, put-on, simulated, strained, unnatural; empty, hollow, meaningless; deceitful, devious, dishonest, false, untruthful; facile, glib, superficial; bogus, sham; campy, facetious, jocular, tongue-in-cheek; canting, pharisaical, pious, sanctimonious, self-righteous, simon-pure

Near Antonyms

direct, forthright, frank, heart-to-heart, open, plain, straightforward

JIVE Defined for English Language Learners

jive

noun

Definition of jive for English Language Learners

: informal language that includes many slang terms
: deceptive or foolish talk
: a type of fast lively music that was especially popular in the early part of the 20th century; also : a dance performed to this type of music