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

Alim McNeill and Mekhi Wingo are coming off torn ACLs, while DJ Reader is entering the final year of his contract. —Colton Pouncy, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025

The Do Lab has been hosting a stage at Coachella since 2005, with the area having been home to performances by big name artists including Billie Eilish, DJ Snake, Rüfüs Du Sol and many others. —Katie Bain, Billboard, 24 Feb. 2025

The packed bar was posting videos to Instagram in the hours leading up to the shooting showing revelers dancing and hostesses bringing out bottles and lit sparklers to celebrate a DJ’s birthday party. —John Annese, New York Daily News, 23 Feb. 2025

Singer Chino Moreno, guitarist Stephen Carpenter, drummer Abe Cunningham and DJ Frank Delgado are the group’s long-running members. —Chris MacIas, Sacramento Bee, 23 Feb. 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