jive

UK: /ˈdʒaɪv/ US: /dʒaɪv/ ,( jīv)

Inflections of 'jive' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

jives

v 3rd person singular

jiving

v pres p

jived

v past

jived

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

jive /dʒaɪv/   n., v., jived, jiv•ing, adj. 
n. [uncountable]

1. Music and Dance swing music.
2. Slang Terms talk that deceives, exaggerates, or is otherwise meaningless:
   Don't give me any jive, just give me the facts.

v. 

3. Slang Terms to tease, fool, kid, or exaggerate: [~ + object]
   Quit jiving me and give me a straight answer.
   [no object]
   They were just jiving.

adj. 

4. Slang Terms intended to deceive:
   jive talk.

jiv•er, n. [countable]
jiv•ey, adj., -i•er, -i•est. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

jive  ( jīv), n., v., jived, jiv•ing, adj. 
n. 

1. Music and Dance swing music or early jazz.
2. the jargon associated with swing music and early jazz.
3. Slang Terms deceptive, exaggerated, or meaningless talk:
   Don't give me any of that jive!

v.i. 

4. Music and Dance to play jive.
5. Music and Dance to dance to jive;
   jitterbug.
6. Slang Terms to engage in kidding, teasing, or exaggeration.

v.t. 

7. Slang Terms to tease;
   fool;
   kid:
   Stop jiving me!

adj. 

8. Slang Terms insincere, pretentious, or deceptive.

• 1920–25; origin, originally obscure; alleged to be an alteration of gibe, though the shift in sense and phonetic change are unexplained

jiv′er, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

jive / dʒaɪv/ noun

1. a style of lively and jerky dance performed to jazz and, later, to rock and roll, popular esp in the 1940s and 1950s
2. deliberately misleading or deceptive talk
3. (as modifier): jive talk

verb

1. (intransitive) to dance the jive
2. to mislead; tell lies (to)

Etymology: 20th Century: of unknown origin

ˈjiver noun