Illustration of conga
- conga 2
conga
noun
con·ga ˈkäŋ-gə 
1
: a Cuban dance of African origin involving three steps followed by a kick and performed by a group usually in single file
2
: a tall barrel-shaped or tapering drum of Afro-Cuban origin that is played with the hands
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web His number in the show largely introduced and popularized the conga in America. 
Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2021 The conga is now a familiar sight and sound in urban parks, on recordings and on stage. John Edward Hasse, WSJ, 20 Apr. 2021 The way their heads crest and fall, while shaking their flightless bodies to do the conga! Wired Staff, Wired, 17 Dec. 2020 Trousers with enough give for the conga, for going loco in Acapulco. Raven Smith, Vogue, 22 Oct. 2020 The artist’s new EP opens with a set of interlocking rhythms connecting a four-on-the-floor bass drum, vibraphone-suggestive mid-range loops, a conga in the background and some crazy high-hat action. Randall Robertsstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2019 My eighth notes provided urgency, a racing pulse under the whole thing rather than the original’s sleepy conga. Marc Myers, WSJ, 22 Nov. 2018 The Last Poets emerged in Harlem at the end of the 1960s, reciting rhythmic verses over conga drumming and speaking directly to the disenfranchised youth of New York City’s black community. Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, 13 June 2018 Other orchestra members are conga player and percussionist Willie Vazquez, drum and timbales player Rob Castaneda, bassist Art Lopez and keyboardist Jimmy Hernandez. Bob Kostanczuk, Post-Tribune, 12 July 2018 See More
Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2021 The conga is now a familiar sight and sound in urban parks, on recordings and on stage. John Edward Hasse, WSJ, 20 Apr. 2021 The way their heads crest and fall, while shaking their flightless bodies to do the conga! Wired Staff, Wired, 17 Dec. 2020 Trousers with enough give for the conga, for going loco in Acapulco. Raven Smith, Vogue, 22 Oct. 2020 The artist’s new EP opens with a set of interlocking rhythms connecting a four-on-the-floor bass drum, vibraphone-suggestive mid-range loops, a conga in the background and some crazy high-hat action. Randall Robertsstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2019 My eighth notes provided urgency, a racing pulse under the whole thing rather than the original’s sleepy conga. Marc Myers, WSJ, 22 Nov. 2018 The Last Poets emerged in Harlem at the end of the 1960s, reciting rhythmic verses over conga drumming and speaking directly to the disenfranchised youth of New York City’s black community. Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, 13 June 2018 Other orchestra members are conga player and percussionist Willie Vazquez, drum and timbales player Rob Castaneda, bassist Art Lopez and keyboardist Jimmy Hernandez. Bob Kostanczuk, Post-Tribune, 12 July 2018 See More Word History
Etymology
American Spanish, probably from feminine of congo black person, from Congo, region in Africa
First Known Use
1934, in the meaning defined at sense 1