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

The Yankees could head into spring training with hopes that DJ LeMahieu can return to form at third base or find another external solution. —Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025

That move left the Yankees with DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza as possible starting options at second or third base. —Chris Kirschner, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025

The alternative would be to start or platoon some combination of DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza at second or third. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2025

The Party Like a Royal celebrations also included appearances from comedian Adam Devine, GRAMMY® Award-winning artist Lil Jon and DJ Webstar, who both kept the party going from the DJ booth on New Year’s Eve. —Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 6 Jan. 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