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Synonyms

big band

American  

noun

  1. a jazz or dance band that is the size of an orchestra.

big band British  

noun

  1. a large jazz or dance band, popular esp in the 1930s to the 1950s

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of big band

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This Music May Contain Hope fuses old-school jazz with an orchestra, blues, big band and soul, reflecting what Raye told the BBC last year.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

After that, the composer turned his attention to a big band pet project, making ends meet with leftover work scoring German TV shows.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

As Simon observed years later, the V-Discs “mark the high watermark of the big band years.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

The courtly gentleman guided women around the floor to big band standards with all the aplomb of teenage boys waltzing at a cotillion dance they’ve been forced to attend by their parents.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2025

He had invited me to probably ten of his gigs to watch him play and had once let me sit in on drums at a big band concert for a thousand people.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.