combo

UK/ˈkɒmbəʊ/US/ˈkɒmbəʊ/

nounC1Common in everyday speech and writing · #5,336 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: combos

A combo is a small band of musicians, or any combination. A jazz combo, a three-piece combo, a combo of the two.

In jazz it means a small group rather than a big band, usually three to seven players. In everyday speech it is a casual shortening of combination, and in fast food a combo is a meal deal. A combo amplifier holds the amp and speaker in one box.

Definitions of combo

1nouncomboA small band of musicians.C1
“A little combo of guitar, bass and drums played at the wedding reception.”

combo is a group.

Where it comes from

A clipping of combination with the -o ending, American and from the 1920s jazz world.

Proto-Indo-European
*dwóh₁
Middle English
combinacioun
English
combination
English, today
combo

From combination + -o. a clipping of combination o. combination comes from Middle English combinacioun. From Middle English combinacioun, combynacyoun, from Old French combination, from Latin combīnātiō. Morphologically combine + ation.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

combo in the wild

A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music.
Jazz band
In fighting games, combo specifically indicates a timed sequence of moves that produce a cohesive series of hits, each of which leaves the opponent unable to block.
Combo (video games)
The term "combo box" is sometimes used to mean "drop-down list".
Combo box
Definition of "drop down list" is sometimes clarified with terms such as "non-editable combo box" (or something similar) to distinguish it from "combo box".
Combo box

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

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