conga

[ kong-guh ]

noun

, plural con·gas.

1. Also called conga line. a Cuban ballroom dance that consists of three steps forward followed by a kick, characteristically performed by a group following a leader in a single line.
2. the music for this dance.
3. Also called con·ga drum [kong, -g, uh, druhm]. a tall, conical, Afro-Cuban drum played with the hands.

verb (used without object)

, con·gaed, con·ga·ing.

1. to dance a conga.

conga

/ ˈkɒŋɡə /

noun

1. a Latin American dance of three steps and a kick to each bar, usually performed by a number of people in single file
2. Also calledconga drum a large tubular bass drum, used chiefly in Latin American and funk music and played with the hands

verb

1. intr to dance the conga

Word History and Origins

Origin of conga¹

First recorded in 1930–35; from Cuban Spanish

Word History and Origins

Origin of conga¹

C20: from American Spanish, feminine of congo belonging to the Congo

Example Sentences

The conga line at the bottleneck was a large group that had been traveling together, and not a queue of disparate teams trying to reach the top.

From Outside Online

Flamboyant party queen Susanne Bartsch is certainly expanding her conga line.

From The Daily Beast

Turns out they were all there that morning, shuffling along in a slo-mo conga line that began in the parking lot and swelled to fill the trail, save for the folks who sought distance by carving their own routes through the beleaguered chaparral.

From Outside Online

After seeing a performance by the New York Philharmonic, he decided to tune his congas to certain pitches, following the example of timpani.

From Washington Post

Three teenage girls, already scared, hugged each other in a sort of terrified conga line.

From The Daily Beast

But the minute you file, the conga line dancing up the street to your competitors really gets going.

From The Daily Beast

By now, everyone has seen the startling photos and video of the conga line of climbers ascending Everest earlier this month.

From The Daily Beast

As the last of a conga line of doctors administering to Jackson, he is the most logical loser of smoking gun musical chairs.

From The Daily Beast

That man has been following me like a conga partner all afternoon.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• disco
• samba
• tango
• waltz