DJ

1 of 3

noun

ˈdē-ˌjā 

plural DJs

: disc jockey

When they [the Beatles] arrived in the U.S. in 1964, John Lennon spent his first night in New York in his hotel room, calling up radio DJs and asking them to play the Ronettes.

—Rob Sheffield

A hip-hop DJ's roles can be multi-faceted: finding the music for dancing, playing the popular tracks, being the rapper's background band, having, maintaining, and providing the equipment, producing the beats, and not least improvising instrumental solos.

—Kjetil Falkenberg Hansen

—sometimes used as a title in the stage names of disc jockeys

Jeffrey Allen Townes, better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, is a producer, deejay and actor …

—Greg Bishop

DJ

2 of 3

verb

DJed also DJ'd; DJing; DJs

transitive + intransitive

: to perform the role of a disc jockey : to act as a DJ for

Snoop Dogg has revealed that he turned down [an] offer to DJ a party for Michael Jordan.

—Will Lavin

The distinctiveness of DJing in hip hop started with the development of adroit techniques on two turntables.

—Patrick Rivers

There was a festive vibe as [Herman] Matfes DJ'd the event with fun Hanukkah and holiday music.

—Lani Mustacchi

… Paris Hilton DJed a New Year's Eve party on her own virtual island this year.

—Brad Thomas

DJ

3 of 3

abbreviation

1

district judge

2

doctor of jurisprudence

3

dust jacket

Examples of DJ in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Bure, who played DJ Tanner on the family sitcom that aired on ABC from 1987 to 1995, regularly checks in on Coulier, who played her onscreen dad's friend Joey Gladstone, since he was diagnosed with stage 3 non Hodgkin's lymphoma in October. —EW.com, 11 Feb. 2025

The rapper then performed the diss track not once, not twice, not three times — but five times back to back and was joined by A-listers and friends such as Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, Tyler, the Creator, DJ Mustard, and more, who took to the stage and added to the hype of the moment. —Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 10 Feb. 2025

The pitch is a biopic about the late paranormal DJ Art Bell, who would broadcast his radio show from his home studio 65 miles west of Las Vegas, fielding unscreened telephone calls in a five-hour show on KNYE-FM called Coast to Coast. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 10 Feb. 2025

The 22-time Grammy winner and Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper took the field after being introduced by Samuel L. Jackson in a full Uncle Sam getup for a performance that included appearances by SZA, Serena Williams, and DJ Mustard. —Time Staff, TIME, 10 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1946, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1948, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

DJ

noun

ˈdē-ˌjā

often not capitalized

: disc jockey