: a Brazilian dance of African origin with a basic pattern of step-close-step-close and characterized by a dip and spring upward at each beat of the music
also
: the music for this dance
samba
intransitive verb
Examples of samba in a Sentence
The band played a samba.
Recent Examples on the Web
Judges praise Alix Earle’s samba in ‘DWTS’ finale Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy opened the Dancing With the Stars season 34 finale with a samba that earned unanimous praise from the judges — and a perfect score.
—
Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
Alix Earle and dancing pro Val Chmerkovskiy were tasked to dance a samba by judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
—Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 25 Nov. 2025
For four nights, Rio’s top samba schools, of which there are more than 100, perform to themes of their choosing—this past year, many were related to Afro-Brazilian religions.
—Marta Tucci, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
Discover the rhythms from West Africa to the soulful baladi of Egypt or the exciting sounds of samba from Brazil.
—Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for samba
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Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
Alix Earle and dancing pro Val Chmerkovskiy were tasked to dance a samba by judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
—Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 25 Nov. 2025
For four nights, Rio’s top samba schools, of which there are more than 100, perform to themes of their choosing—this past year, many were related to Afro-Brazilian religions.
—Marta Tucci, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
Discover the rhythms from West Africa to the soulful baladi of Egypt or the exciting sounds of samba from Brazil.
—Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for samba
Cite this Entry
“Samba.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/samba. Accessed 12 Dec. 2025.
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