rumba

noun

rum·​ba ˈrəm-bə 

ˈru̇m-,

ˈrüm-

variants or less commonly rhumba

: a ballroom dance of Cuban origin in ²/₄ or ⁴/₄ time with a basic pattern of step-close-step and marked by a delayed transfer of weight and pronounced hip movements

also : the music for this dance

Examples of rumba in a Sentence

The band played a rumba.

Recent Examples on the Web

Arnaz parlayed his talents to a spot in a rumba group called the Siboney Septet, named for the seaside Cuban town just outside Santiago, that was playing at Miami Beach’s original Roney Plaza on Collins Avenue. —Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 19 June 2025

Six hours of tango, foxtrot, rumba, waltz and swing. —Kevin P. Martin Jr., People.com, 11 Apr. 2025

Scents of jazz, blues, Dixieland, boogie-woogie, soft-shoe, calypso, rag and rumba waft by in catchy new arrangements. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025

An arrangement by Thomas Adès of Conlon Nancarrow’s Study No. 6, one of his ingenious player-piano exercises, somehow transformed complex rhythmic layerings into a blithe, tipsy rumba. —Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

rumba

noun

rum·​ba ˈrəm-bə 

ˈru̇m-

: a dance of Cuban origin