juju

1 of 2

noun (1)

ju·​ju ˈjü-(ˌ)jü How to pronounce juju (audio)
1
: a fetish, charm, or amulet of West African peoples
2
: the magic attributed to or associated with jujus

juju

2 of 2

noun (2)

: a style of West African music that is characterized by a rapid beat, the use of percussion instruments, and vocal harmonies

Examples of juju in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Seventies California was loaded with bad juju, from the Zodiac Killer to the Patty Hearst kidnapping to Jim Jones. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 3 Dec. 2023 The bad juju vibes for the Red Sox at Tropicana Field continued Tuesday evening. Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Apr. 2023 This year, Thursdays are afflicted with bad juju. Chris Morris, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2022 Is there just bad juju in Lincoln these days? Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press, 11 Oct. 2021 So, yeah, the Creel House has some bad juju. Nick Romano, EW.com, 25 Sep. 2021 Guy denies that there’s bad juju in the locker room. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Dec. 2022 In the track, Cibrian even shares a motivational speech about working on your goals in silence to prevent bad juju from the haters. Billboard Staff, Billboard, 21 Oct. 2022 Surrounded by rural beauty and a lot of bad juju, Cash took up the guitar, playing with barracks buddies and putting his feelings of exile and confinement into his first attempts at songwriting. Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 7 Dec. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'juju.' 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 (1)

of W. African origin; akin to the source of Hausa jùju fetish

Noun (2)

Yoruba jújù

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1982, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of juju was in 1894

Dictionary Entries Near juju

Cite this Entry

“Juju.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juju. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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