DJ

1 of 3

noun

ˈdē-ˌjā 

plural DJs

: disc jockey

When they [the Beatles] arrived in the U.S. in 1964, John Lennon spent his first night in New York in his hotel room, calling up radio DJs and asking them to play the Ronettes.

—Rob Sheffield

A hip-hop DJ's roles can be multi-faceted: finding the music for dancing, playing the popular tracks, being the rapper's background band, having, maintaining, and providing the equipment, producing the beats, and not least improvising instrumental solos.

—Kjetil Falkenberg Hansen

—sometimes used as a title in the stage names of disc jockeys

Jeffrey Allen Townes, better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, is a producer, deejay and actor …

—Greg Bishop

DJ

2 of 3

verb

DJed also DJ'd; DJing; DJs

transitive + intransitive

: to perform the role of a disc jockey : to act as a DJ for

Snoop Dogg has revealed that he turned down [an] offer to DJ a party for Michael Jordan.

—Will Lavin

The distinctiveness of DJing in hip hop started with the development of adroit techniques on two turntables.

—Patrick Rivers

There was a festive vibe as [Herman] Matfes DJ'd the event with fun Hanukkah and holiday music.

—Lani Mustacchi

… Paris Hilton DJed a New Year's Eve party on her own virtual island this year.

—Brad Thomas

DJ

3 of 3

abbreviation

1

district judge

2

doctor of jurisprudence

3

dust jacket

Examples of DJ in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Director Jason Zada teamed up with Wu-Tang’s legendary Creative Director Danny Hastings, DJ Mathematics, and the Wu-Tang Clan to build a world with Google’s Veo 2. —Charlie Fink, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025

His friend and collaborator, DJ Slugo, confirmed the tragic news to PEOPLE Magazine. —Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 7 Mar. 2025

According to a fundraiser for funeral expenses, DJ Funk had been living with cancer. —Walden Green, Pitchfork, 7 Mar. 2025

Hosted earlier this week by three-time Grammy Award-winner Pink, the annual pickleball and tennis charity event welcomed dozens of actors, musicians and tennis pros, including Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios, Aryna Sabalenka, Jason Derulo, DJ Mustard, Lance Bass, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis and Pete Wentz. —Erin Lassner, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1946, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1948, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

DJ

noun

ˈdē-ˌjā

often not capitalized

: disc jockey