jive

1 of 3

noun

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 adjective

jive

2 of 3

verb

jived; jiving

transitive verb

1
: to say foolish, deceptive, or unserious things to (someone)
He's jiving you.
2

intransitive verb

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)

jive

3 of 3

adjective

slang
: phony
if you are late getting to heaven, you will give Saint Peter some jive excuseLangston 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
Noun
As foreign service officers jockey and jive for influence, power, and a sense of significance, minorities, deprived of institutional support, are falling out of the ranks, victim to gaslighting and other adversities. Byjenny Abamu, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024 Bangs paints a portrait of speed-freak jive in excelsis: three different justifications for one course of action may be proffered in a single night, each believed in the moment it’s delivered. Ian Penman, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023 After the dance, co-host Julianne Hough asked Umansky about his family's reaction to his jive. Dory Jackson, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2023 But still the links between Herc, Jamaican toasters, and American jive are clear. Heather Augustyn, Spin, 9 Aug. 2023 If aesthetics are important to your buying decision, shop around to find a model that jives with your décor. Mike Richard, Men's Health, 14 Aug. 2023 Like the jive of Cab Calloway, toasting used language for its rhythm, percussion, and style. Heather Augustyn, Spin, 9 Aug. 2023 That jives with what the source told CNN. From Cnn's Krystal Hur, Nicole Goodkind and Allison Morrow, CNN, 29 Mar. 2023 Literal bits of the culture creep in, with references to hand jive and vogueing, for example. Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2023
Verb
Virgo Virgo is another earth sign Aquarius may not jive with. Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 21 Jan. 2024 More than 50 dancers swarmed the streets jumping, jiving, and shimmying as Shug pulled into town. Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 25 Dec. 2023 However, the astrologer points to typical characteristics of certain signs that may not jive with Libras. Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 6 Oct. 2023 Plus, the sleek, minimalist design just jived with me. Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Sep. 2023 Gitlow’s shucking and jiving is, in Jones’s performance, very clearly a performance itself: a way of getting around the obtuseness of overlords. Jesse Green, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023 Meaning, there are more folks in the broad pool of voters, but that doesn't jive with all the Republican base is. ABC News, 30 July 2023 Amazon staples like scary animatronics and purple and orange string lights don’t jive with your vibe? Brigitt Earley, Glamour, 21 July 2023 TikTok’s latest diet fad is various things dipped in cottage cheese and mustard—some people are jiving with it, and others are mocking it. Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 14 July 2023
Adjective
Caitlin Jenner!), accounts of Leslie Nielsen's pranks, and the story behind the infamous jive talk scene. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 26 Sep. 2023 These American DJs spread jive not only over America but across the ocean. Heather Augustyn, Spin, 9 Aug. 2023 In the 1950s, jive furthered its reach through the embrace of Black radio disc jockeys. Heather Augustyn, Spin, 9 Aug. 2023 There’s a moment of bliss when the lighting dims to club level and all eight dancers jive as one. Jeffrey Gantz, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Mar. 2023 Here's why agile transformation and a perfect transformation plan just don't jive. Andrea Fryrear, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023 Someone was telling me to stick my butt out and jive talk and walk around and stick your lip out and bug your eyes. Mark Olsenstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2023 Families were able to juke and jive to high-quality bands from all over the region in the grass, then head a couple of blocks to await the boom boom over the barricades. al, 29 Jan. 2023 In typical Critics Choice fashion, the second the telecast hit a commercial break, stars leaped to their feet, practically skipping across the ballroom to schmooze and jive with other celebs. Rasha Ali, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun, Verb, and Adjective

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

1925, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1928, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adjective

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of jive was in 1925

Dictionary Entries Near jive

Cite this Entry

“Jive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jive. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

jive

1 of 2 noun
1
: swing music or dancing performed to it
2
a
: glib, deceptive, or foolish talk
b
: a special jargon of difficult or slang terms

jive

2 of 2 verb
jived; jiving
1
2
: to dance or play jive

More from Merriam-Webster on jive

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