disco

¹

[ dis-koh ]

noun

, plural dis·cos.

1. discotheque.
2. a style of popular music for dancing, usually recorded and with complex electronic instrumentation, in which simple, repetitive lyrics are subordinated to a heavy, pulsating, rhythmic beat.
3. any of various forms of dance, often improvisational, performed to such music.

adjective

1. of or relating to a disco or disco music.
2. intended for a disco or its patrons.

verb (used without object)

, dis·coed, dis·co·ing.

1. to dance disco, especially at a discotheque.

disco-

²

1. a combining form representing disk or disc in compound words:

   discifloral.

2. a combining form meaning “phonograph record”, used in the formation of compound words:

   discography.

disco

/ ˈdɪskəʊ /

noun

1. 1. an occasion at which typically young people dance to amplified pop records, usually compered by a disc jockey and featuring special lighting effects
   2. ( as modifier )

      disco dancing

2. a nightclub or other public place where such dances take place
3. mobile equipment, usually accompanied by a disc jockey who operates it, for providing music for a disco
4. 1. a type of dance music designed to be played in discos, with a solid thump on each beat
   2. ( as modifier )

      a disco record

Word History and Origins

Origin of disco¹

An Americanism dating back to 1960–65; by shortening

Word History and Origins

Origin of disco¹

C20: shortened from discotheque

Example Sentences

Following the lead of K-Tel, a company developed by Canadian pitchman Phil Kives, Ronco sold millions of compilation recordings of classical music, disco, soul and military music in the 1970s and 1980s.

From Washington Post

From tunes that provided the backdrop for kitchen discos during lockdown to podcasts that made sense of the tumultuous political climate, a playlist for the pandemic has emerged.

From Digiday

A soundtrack to a disco buried beneath shifting sand, underneath the ruins of a demolished world.

From Washington Post

Then disco and then the post-punk movement and MTV and the whole John Hughes phenomenon.

From Ozy

It doesn’t regurgitate old conversations about disco or Will & Grace.

From Time

The last time there was a raid of this scale was in 2001, when 52 men were arrested on Queen Boat, a floating disco on the Nile.

From The Daily Beast

Disco was dead and heavy metal was born—and so was Taylor Swift.

From The Daily Beast

For young white men at Comiskey Park, that target was disco music.

From The Daily Beast

How could anyone think that their dislike of the Bee Gees made anything about Disco Demolition Night acceptable?

From The Daily Beast

Just look at the rhetoric used by angry 1970s rock fans to bash disco.

From The Daily Beast

These were a cause of great joy, and when Disco was reached, and some coal procured, the explorers felt almost at home.

From Project Gutenberg

The men continued to grumble and deceive themselves with the idea of soon getting to Disco, "where rum and tobacco were plenty."

From Project Gutenberg

We can see the Greenland coast plainly and to-day, the 29th, we raised and passed Disco Island.

From Project Gutenberg

Rima sulco rhombeo circumscripta, disco decussatim vix manifeste striato.

From Project Gutenberg

Disco had an easy way of changing a subject when he felt that he was getting out of his depth.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dance hall
• nightclub
• nightspot