Bossa Nova Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

bossa nova American [bos-uh noh-vuh, baw-suh] / ˈbɒs ə ˈnoʊ və, ˈbɔ sə /

noun

1. jazz-influenced music of Brazilian origin, rhythmically related to the samba.

2. a dance performed to this music.

bossa nova British / ˈbɒsə ˈnəʊvə /

noun

1. a dance similar to the samba, originating in Brazil

2. a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance

"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 bossa nova

1960–65; < Portuguese: literally, new tendency, leaning

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 key track off Laferte’s noirish “Femme Fatale,” “Las Flores Que Dejaste En La Mesa” takes off with the quiet longing of bossa nova, boils into unhinged bolero territory, then incorporates the icy electro loops of trip-hop icons Portishead.

From Los Angeles Times

My last album was the thing that put me on the map, and the song that went viral was the most pure bossa nova song that I’d released.

From Los Angeles Times

The singer Laufey has had streaming success with songs that nod to bossa nova and 1950s vocal jazz; her version of “Winter Wonderland,” released in 2023, is earning more than 1.3 million plays a day on Spotify.

From The Wall Street Journal

A comic song about “the men’s” obsession with papers is a pretty waltz aria accompanied by harp and flute; a saxophone picks up the tune and it turns into a raucous bossa nova, then into an Irish folk song with fiddle and accordion.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Oganesson” is constructed around his delicate strummed riff, which recalls the ease of bossa nova, and it has an airiness and jazziness not found elsewhere on the record.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.