jive

noun \ ˈjīv \

Updated on: 2 Apr 2018

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

Also collecting 24 points were Terrell Owens for an emotional Viennese waltz, Nikki Bella for a contemporary dance about a comeback from injury, Sasha Pieterse for a foxtrot, Vanessa Lachey for a rumba and Drew Scott for a jive.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Dancing With the Stars': Who's out, who wowed," 9 Oct. 2017
Len Goodman called the jive the dance of the season so far, and Carrie Ann Inaba said the routine was one of her favorites in the show’s history.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Dancing With the Stars': Where's Maks?," 3 Oct. 2017
Former football star Terrell Owens displayed great charm on a jive honoring spy movies.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Dancing With the Stars': Mad scientist wins night," 23 Oct. 2017
The regnant medium in the pop and R&B markets until musicians copped to Sinatra, Sam Cooke, and Ray Charles’ jive and fiddled with concepts and such, the single devolved into a means to an end during the High Reagan era.

— alfred soto, Billboard, "Did America Love 'Monkey,' Or Did It Just Love George Michael?," 26 Oct. 2017
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
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
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
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.

jive vs. jibe

People began confusing jive and jibe almost immediately after jive entered our language in the late 1920s. In particular, jive is often used as a variant for the sense of jibe meaning “agree,” as in “that doesn’t jive with my memory of what happened.” This use of jive, although increasingly common, is widely considered to be an error. Jibe, however, is accepted as a variant spelling of an entirely different word, which is gibe (“to utter taunting words”).

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, language, lingo, patois, patter, shop, shoptalk, slang, terminology, vocabulary;

journalese;

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

Given their prominent presentation and evident attraction for each other, Mr. Phifer and Ms. Yorita remain dominant, jiving and cavorting in and around a bed and a room.

— robert greskovic, WSJ, "BalletX Review: Philadelphia Footwork," 12 Mar. 2018
But then Henry Wofford, a Black anchor at NBC Sports in San Francisco shucked and jived his way into the conversation.

— Essence.com, "Damage Control! News Anchor Apologizes For Dismissing Diddy's Interest In Buying An NFL Team," 19 Dec. 2017
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
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

banter, chaff, fool, fun, gag, jape, jest, joke, jolly, josh, kid, quip, wisecrack;

Related Words

gibe (or jibe), haze, jeer, mock, rag, rally, razz, rib, ridicule, tease;

caricature, lampoon, parody, satirize;

amuse, divert, entertain;

Phrases

crack wise;

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

My muscle-building aspirations just didn't jive with the traditional expectations of Asian women that they were used to.

— jessica tran, SELF, "How I Learned to Love Being Swole and Asian," 29 Mar. 2018
Maxine, Miss New York State in 1979, and Kirt, whose jive-talk rhymes add to the quirky ambiance, are definitely part of the brunch experience.

— george diaz, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Maxine's Shines as the King and Queen of Orlando Brunch," 13 Oct. 2017
The jive talker, the role of slang-slinging slickster, has been picked up by Slick, Junkyard Dog and the Godfather.

— jeremy harriot, The Root, "Why Aren’t There More Black WWE Stars?," 1 Sep. 2017

Origin and Etymology of jive

see ¹jive

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1953

See Words from the same year

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