tango

[ tang-goh ]
See synonyms for tango on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural tan·gos.
  1. a ballroom dance of Latin American origin, danced by couples, and having many varied steps, figures, and poses.

  2. music for this dance.

  1. a word used in communications to represent the letter T.

verb (used without object),tan·goed, tan·go·ing.
  1. to dance the tango.

Origin of tango

1
First recorded in 1910–15; from Latin American Spanish, possibly from a Niger-Congo language such as Ibibio tamgu “to dance”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tango in a sentence

  • Dozens of performances were submitted, ranging from tangos to Lindy Hops to night-vision hula-hooping.

    Dance Your Way to a Ph.D. | Randi Zuckerberg | December 4, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Then upon the open sward of the Campo they will dance their tangos, stepping it manfully for hour after hour.

    Uruguay | W. H. Koebel
  • As he went on he began to forget his father-in-law, and in a short while he was bawling indecent tangos at the top of his voice.

    Poor Folk in Spain | Jan Gordon

British Dictionary definitions for tango (1 of 2)

tango

/ (ˈtæŋɡəʊ) /


nounplural -gos
  1. a Latin American dance in duple time, characterized by long gliding steps and sudden pauses

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

verb-goes, -going or -goed
  1. (intr) to perform this dance

Origin of tango

1
C20: from American Spanish, probably of Niger-Congo origin; compare Ibibio tamgu to dance

Derived forms of tango

  • tangoist, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Tango (2 of 2)

Tango

/ (ˈtæŋɡəʊ) /


noun
  1. communications a code word for the letter t

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

Cultural definitions for tango

tango

A sensual ballroom dance that originated in South America in the early twentieth century.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.