variants
or less commonly hip hop
or hiphop
1
a
: a stylized rhythmic music of African American origin that typically features rapping (see rap entry 6 sense 2) over synthesized beats (see beat entry 2 sense 4d) or sampled tracks
… the first bits of hip-hop were born out of DJs breaking apart funk and disco beats … until all that was left was the percussion, cut up into small, danceable portions for the people in the audience to sweat to.—Hanif Abdurraqib
… hip hop has become a form reflecting both the beauty and the belly of the beast in American society, refracted through the lens of black American culture.—Imani Perry
The music that Charanga plays is … a combination of jazz and rumba spiced with reggae, funk and hiphop.—Silvana Paternostro
—often used before another nounhip-hop artists
a hip hop song
b
or hip-hop dance
or less commonly hip hop dance
or hiphop dance
: syncopated dancing typically performed to hip-hop music
For decades, Harris has been swerving away from stereotypes and expectations of hip-hop dance, all while staying true to its roots.—Brian Seibert
… an untapped market of people wanting to learn hiphop dance.—Nick Vogel
Unlike the verticality of classical dance … hip-hop uses a horizontal body, dissonance, and ragged gesture juxtaposed with a cool, relaxed, laid-back attitude.—Karen Lynn Smith
—often used before another nouna hip-hop dance group/crew
… a dance team that performs hip-hop routines at most weekend home games …—Gina Cherelus
2
: a cultural movement associated especially with rap music
In one sense, hip-hop had triumphed over America. … No matter the race, class, or geography, the kids wore the same clothes, spoke the same language, listened to the same music.—Jeff Chang
In my elementary school years, everyone I knew around my age loved hip-hop. … I loved every aspect of the culture and tried my hand at all of it.—Rakim
—often used before another nounthe hip-hop generation
Hip hop culture is a four-legged stool, its artistic pillars of deejaying, graffiti art, rapping, and b-boying coming into existence in the early 1970s and each influencing the ways in which the other evolved.—Jelani Cobb
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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