How to Use bossa nova in a Sentence

bossa nova

noun
  • Cuban singer-songwriter whose style encompasses jazz, bossa nova, Cuban son, bolero, classical and more.
    Domenica Bongiovanni, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Aug. 2024
  • Uchis sounds great on bossa nova and glides along the single with ease.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 July 2022
  • Astrud was the true girl who took bossa nova from Ipanema to the world.
    Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 6 June 2023
  • Franks’ sly, svelte songs drew from jazz, bossa nova, funk, urbane pop, soul and more.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2023
  • Some of them will once have been part of the memory of my mother dancing the bossa nova.
    Alan Lightman, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2022
  • Love boy bands, bossa nova music, yacht rock, or grunge?
    Matt Campbell, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2021
  • In my room, the lights were dimmed, a cheese plate was waiting, and an Amazon Echo was playing bossa nova.
    Jack Nicas, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2018
  • But The Girl started out as a moody indie-pop duo, with a taste for cocktail-lounge jazz and bossa nova.
    Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2023
  • The song, a bossa nova anthem, became the second most played in the world mainly because of her.
    Shania Russell, EW.com, 6 June 2023
  • The 3,200-square-foot space includes an open pastry kitchen, where the staff bakes sweet and savory items to the soundtrack of bossa nova tunes.
    Chelsea Davis, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2021
  • Blame the Big Cut on the pandemic, or on the growing deficits these sports were already running up, or on the bossa nova.
    Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, 8 July 2020
  • The guitarist and songwriter works in a wide range of styles from samba to bossa nova to salsa.
    Brandon Moeller, Houston Chronicle, 9 Apr. 2020
  • Caravelle is souped-up bossa nova for the sensual lounge and cocktail bar of your dreams.
    Billboard Staff, Billboard, 25 May 2018
  • Over the course of a meal, the restaurant’s soundtrack progressed by region and genre, sort of like a wine list, from France to Brazil, jazz to bossa nova and beyond.
    Josie Sexton, The Denver Post, 20 Dec. 2019
  • Blame it on global warming, Norv Turner or the bossa nova.
    Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2019
  • Eilish and Finneas even play with bossa nova in one terrific slinky tune.
    Mark Kennedy, Star Tribune, 30 July 2021
  • The track has a bossa nova swing, but Reinhart's vocals — showcased on season 10 of American Idol — have the lilt of low-fi pop.
    Rebecca Farley, refinery29.com, 31 May 2018
  • Mr Gilberto was a star of bossa nova, a musical style that fuses jazz and samba.
    The Economist, 13 July 2019
  • Many of bossa nova’s leading lights were either just writers or just performers; Mr. Lyra was among the few who were both.
    Clay Risen, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2023
  • Among pop performers, Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 turned it into a catchy bossa nova.
    John Edward Hasse, WSJ, 25 Nov. 2022
  • The bossa nova era was one of two great, creative ebullitions in 20th-century Brazil.
    The Economist, 11 July 2019
  • At the bossa nova’s start in the late 1950s, the music was composed largely by male Brazilian sensualists.
    Marc Myers, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2022
  • The introspective songs are a mix of reggaeton, bossa nova (a genre of Brazilian music), and neo soul.
    Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, 1 June 2018
  • His hummable show tunes draw from everything from bossa nova to calypso music to hip-hop.
    Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 June 2021
  • But this research looked only at Beethoven and bossa nova, and didn't give mice the option of getting romantic while the music was playing.
    Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 15 Feb. 2013
  • The track was originally recorded by her then-husband, João Gilberto, also known as the the father of bossa nova.
    Starr Bowenbank, Billboard, 6 June 2023
  • So inspiring to hear classic bossa nova songs treated in a modern way.
    Liza Lentini, SPIN, 23 Sep. 2022
  • Gilberto was a giant of bossa nova and is often credited with helping develop the sound of the genre that brought Brazilian music to the world.
    Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 6 July 2019
  • To Mendes, the appeal of bossa nova was both obvious and instantaneous.
    Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 29 Jan. 2022
  • She’s followed by vocalist Kenya Moses focusing on bossa nova (noon) and an African heritage drum workshop (1 p.m.).
    Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 11 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bossa nova.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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