# samba

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsɑmbə/ · frequency rank #23,093

## Definitions
1. A Brazilian ballroom dance or dance style.
2. A Brazilian musical genre, to which the aforementioned dance is danced, which has its roots in West Africa via the slave trade.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese samba, from a Bantu language. Doublet of semba.

## Easily confused with
- **SMA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sma)
- **SBA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sba)
- **same** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-same)
- **Sara** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sara)
- **Sami** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sami)
- **soma** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-soma)
- **SATA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sata)
- **saya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-saya)
- **Santa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-santa)
- **Sasha** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sasha)
- **Sammy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sammy)
- **Samoa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-samoa)
- **scuba** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-scuba)
- **sauna** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sauna)
- **summa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-summa)
- **Satya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-satya)
- **Sheba** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sheba)
- **Sanaa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-sanaa)
- **Samoan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samba-vs-samoan)
- **Sam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sam-vs-samba)

## Common misspellings (7)
`asmba`, `sabma`, `samab`, `sambba`, `sammba`, `smaba`, `ssamba`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/samba