world music

British

noun

popular music of various ethnic origins and styles outside the tradition of Western pop and rock music

"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

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.

A prolific musician, Jack DeJohnette also released numerous solo albums, blending jazz, world music, and sound experiments.

From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025

The inaugural nominees - who would previously have slugged it out in the world music category - include Nigerian stars Burna Boy, Asake, Ayra Starr and Davido, alongside breakout South African singer Tyla.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2024

Inspired by his Grammy category sweep, Batiste incorporated even more genres into his sound, self-consciously dismantling the stigma surrounding world music.

From BBC • Aug. 18, 2023

“It wasn’t about making a world music album, but using that as a prompt because it’s really a horrendous term, if you think about it for many reasons,” he says.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2023

I watched soccer, cartoons, music shows featuring British boy bands, and world music from Ireland, America, Burundi.

From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

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