mambo

American  

[mahm-boh] / ˈmɑm boʊ /

noun

plural

mambos

1. a fast ballroom dance of Caribbean origin, rhythmically similar to the rumba and cha-cha but having a more complex pattern of steps.

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verb (used without object)

1. to dance the mambo.

mambo British  

/ ˈmæmbəʊ /

noun

1. a modern Latin American dance, resembling the rumba, derived from the ritual dance of voodoo

2. a voodoo priestess

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verb

1. (intr) to perform this dance

Etymology

Origin of mambo

First recorded in 1935–40; from Caribbean Spanish (Cuba), from Haitian Creole manbo “ritual dance; Vodou priestess”; perhaps from Kongo màmbu, plural of diàmbu “ritual negotiation, message”

Example Sentences

However, he was not too fond of the emerging term, which seemed to cram different styles like mambo, charanga, rumba, guaracha and danzón into one single category.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2025

In “Balancê,” the title song of her 2005 album and one of her biggest hits, she sang in Portuguese about wanting to share “A new dance/A mix of semba with samba, mambo with rumba.”

From New York Times • Dec. 12, 2023

KFC ran a similar mambo sauce promotion at select locations in 2021.

From Washington Times • Sep. 26, 2023

For the first four innings, the Mariners seemed destined to take a step back in their never-ending dance between a winning record and a losing record — call it the mambo of mediocrity.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 17, 2023

From son an abundant range of dance and song types blossomed: danzon, rumba, guaguanco, yambu, bossa nova, mambo, chachacha, conga, and eventually salsa.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall