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
jived; jiving
1
: to say foolish, deceptive, or unserious things to (someone)
He's jiving you.
2
1
: to talk in a foolish, deceptive, or unserious way : to talk jive (see jive entry 1 sense 1)
He's just jiving.
2
: to dance to or play jive (see jive entry 1 sense 2)
slang
: phony
if you are late getting to heaven, you will give Saint Peter some jive excuse—
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
Did you know?
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”).
Examples of jive in a Sentence
Noun
She grew up talking street jive.
I'm tired of listening to your jive.
Verb
I know he's just jiving me.
Don't take him seriously—he's just jiving.
Everyone was jiving to the beat.
Adjective
don't give me that jive talk about me being your new best friend
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Fitzpatrick, Axios, 22 Apr. 2025
This jives with the ballerina’s belief that her art form is about mindset as much as physical exertion.
—Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2025
Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2025
From electronics to delicate fabrics, natural stone, and more, there are a variety of surfaces and materials that just don’t jive with this household cleaning staple.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2025
Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
But the results do jive with past trials of antioxidants in cancer patients.
—Amber Dance, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jive
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.
Noun
That jives with longstanding findings that white young adults are less likely than others to live with their parents, per Pew.
—Alex Fitzpatrick, Axios, 22 Apr. 2025
This jives with the ballerina’s belief that her art form is about mindset as much as physical exertion.
—Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2025
Verb
Be Courtesy To Other Shoppers To a Southerner, manners are top of mind, so pushing, shoving, and being rude over buying things doesn’t jive with a genteel way of life.
—Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2025
From electronics to delicate fabrics, natural stone, and more, there are a variety of surfaces and materials that just don’t jive with this household cleaning staple.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
So, being able to waltz, tango, quickstep and jive in equal measure?
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
But the results do jive with past trials of antioxidants in cancer patients.
—Amber Dance, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jive
Cite this Entry
“Jive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jive. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
jive
1 of 2 noun1
: swing music or dancing performed to it
2
a
: glib, deceptive, or foolish talk
b
: a special jargon of difficult or slang terms
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share