noun

folk [folk folks] noun, adjective   [fəʊk]    [foʊk] 

noun
1. (also folks especially in NAmE) plural (informal) people in general
• ordinary working-class folk
• I'd like a job working with old folk or kids.

• the folks back home (= from the place where you come from)

2. folks plural (informal) a friendly way of addressing more than one person

• Well, folks, what are we going to do today?

3. folks plural (informal, especially NAmE) the members of your family, especially your parents

• How are your folks?

4. plural people from a particular country or region, or who have a particular way of life
• country folk
• townsfolk

• farming folk

5. (also ˈfolk music) uncountable music in the traditional style of a country or community

• a folk festival/concert

salsa [salsa salsas]   [ˈsælsə]    [ˈsɑːlsə]  noun

1. uncountable a type of Latin American dance music

2. countable, uncountable a dance performed to this music

3. uncountable a sauce eaten with Mexican food 
Word Origin:

Spanish, literally sauce, extended in American Spanish to denote the dance.

jazz

jazz [jazz jazzes jazzed jazzing] noun, verb   [dʒæz]    [dʒæz] 

noun uncountable
a type of music with strong rhythms, in which the players often improvise (= make up the music as they are playing), originally created by African American musicians
• a jazz band/club
• traditional/modern jazz
• jazz musicians
see also  acid jazz  
Word Origin:
early 20th cent.: of unknown origin.  
Culture:
jazz
Jazz is one of the greatest forms of music originating in the US. The names of its stars are known around the world. Most people have heard of stars like Ella Fitzgerald, ‚Count’ Basie, ‚Duke’ Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Wynton Marsalis, who plays in the traditional style, is one of the best-known jazz musicians today.
Jazz was begun in the South by African Americans. Many of its rhythms came from the work songs and spirituals (= religious songs) of black slaves. New Orleans street bands first made jazz popular. Early forms of jazz created at the beginning of the 20th century were ragtime and the blues. Ragtime musicians included the singer ‚Jelly Roll’ Morton and the composer and piano player Scott Joplin. Famous blues singers included Bessie Smith and later Billie Holiday. Dixieland developed from ragtime and the blues and made a feature of improvisation (= making up the music as it is being played), especially on the trumpet and saxophone. Dixieland stars included Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.
In the 1920s many African Americans moved north, taking jazz with them, and Chicago and New York became centres for the music. This was the beginning of the big band era. In the 1930s swing music came into fashion and people danced to jazz. Radio and the new recording industry helped to make it even more popular. The big bands were led by Basie, Ellington, Woody Herman, Glenn Miller, and ‚the King of Swing’, Benny Goodman. In the 1940s there were new styles such as bebop, developed by ‚Dizzy’ Gillespie, Charlie ‚Bird’ Parker and Thelonious Monk. Freer forms like progressive jazz and free jazz developed in the 1950s with stars including Stan Getz, John Coltrane and Dave Brubeck. Cool jazz followed in the 1960s, led by Getz and Miles Davis. More recent styles have included funky jazz, jazz-rock and hip-hop jazz.
In Britain jazz attracts a small but enthusiastic audience. The height of its popularity was in the 1940s and 1950s, when large crowds gathered to hear big bands. British jazz has always been heavily influenced by US jazz. In the 1960s pop and rock music replaced jazz as the music of the young generation. There are now few jazz bands, although smaller combos (= groups) continue to play a wide range of trad (= traditional), bebop, cool and avant-garde jazz. The most famous British jazz musicians have included Johnny Dankworth and Cleo Laine, George Melly, Humphrey Lyttleton and Courtney Pine. The home of jazz in Britain is Ronnie Scott's club in London. 
Collocations:
Music
Listening
listen to/enjoy/love/be into music/classical music/jazz/pop/hip-hop, etc.
listen to the radio/an MP3 player/a CD
put on/play a CD/a song/some music
turn down/up the music/radio/volume/bass
go to a concert/festival/gig/performance/recital
copy/burn/rip music/a CD/a DVD
download music/an album/a song/a demo/a video
Playing
play a musical instrument/the piano/percussion/a note/a riff/the melody/a concerto/a duet/by ear
sing an anthem/a ballad/a solo/an aria/the blues/in a choir/soprano/alto/tenor/bass/out of tune
hum a tune/a theme tune/a lullaby
accompany a singer/choir
strum a chord/guitar
Performing
form/start/get together/join/quit/leave a band
give a performance/concert/recital
do a concert/recital/gig
play a concert/gig/festival/venue
perform (BrE) at/in a concert/(especially NAmE) a concert
appear at a festival/live
go on/embark on a (world) tour
Recording
write/compose music/a ballad/a melody/a tune/a song/a theme song/an opera/a symphony
land/get/sign a record deal
be signed to/be dropped by a record company
record/release/put out an album/a single/a CD
be top of/top the charts
get to/go straight to/go straight in at/enter the charts at number one 
Example Bank:
• the rising stars of the New York jazz scene
Idiom: and all that jazz

Derived: jazz something up 

hip hop

ˈhip hop       noun uncountable

1. a type of popular music with spoken words and a steady beat played on electronic instruments, originally played by young African Americans

2. the culture of the young African Americans and others who enjoy this type of music, including special styles of art, dancing, dress, etc. 
Word Origin:

[hip hop] 1980s: reduplication probably based on hip  ‘fashionable’.

pop

pop [pop pops popped popping] noun, verb, adjective, adverb   [pɒp]    [pɑːp] 

noun  

MUSIC
1. (also ˈpop music) uncountable popular music of the sort that has been popular since the 1950s, usually with a strong rhythm and simple tunes, often contrasted with rock, soul and other forms of popular music

• rock, pop and soul  

SOUND

2. countable a short sharp explosive sound

• The cork came out of the bottle with a loud pop.  

DRINK

3. uncountable (old-fashioned, informal) a sweet fizzy drink (= with bubbles) that is not alcoholic  

FATHER
4. singular (informal, especially NAmE) used as a word for ‘father’, especially as a form of address
• Hi, Pop!  
Word Origin:
n. senses 3 to 4 and v. adv. and late Middle English ‘a blow, knock’ ‘to strike’
n. sense 1 and adj. late 19th cent. popular
n. sense 2 mid 19th cent. poppa
 
Collocations:
Music
Listening
listen to/enjoy/love/be into music/classical music/jazz/pop/hip-hop, etc.
listen to the radio/an MP3 player/a CD
put on/play a CD/a song/some music
turn down/up the music/radio/volume/bass
go to a concert/festival/gig/performance/recital
copy/burn/rip music/a CD/a DVD
download music/an album/a song/a demo/a video
Playing
play a musical instrument/the piano/percussion/a note/a riff/the melody/a concerto/a duet/by ear
sing an anthem/a ballad/a solo/an aria/the blues/in a choir/soprano/alto/tenor/bass/out of tune
hum a tune/a theme tune/a lullaby
accompany a singer/choir
strum a chord/guitar
Performing
form/start/get together/join/quit/leave a band
give a performance/concert/recital
do a concert/recital/gig
play a concert/gig/festival/venue
perform (BrE) at/in a concert/(especially NAmE) a concert
appear at a festival/live
go on/embark on a (world) tour
Recording
write/compose music/a ballad/a melody/a tune/a song/a theme song/an opera/a symphony
land/get/sign a record deal
be signed to/be dropped by a record company
record/release/put out an album/a single/a CD
be top of/top the charts
get to/go straight to/go straight in at/enter the charts at number one 
Example Bank:
• The cork came out with a loud pop.
• The eight compilations range from teen pop to classical.
Idioms: go pop ▪ have a pop ▪ pop the question ▪ pop your clogs ▪ … a pop

Derived: pop off ▪ pop something on 

rock

rock [rock rocks rocked rocking] noun, verb   [rɒk]    [rɑːk]

noun  

HARD MATERIAL
1. uncountable, countable the hard solid material that forms part of the surface of the earth and some other planets
• They drilled through several layers of rock to reach the oil.
• a cave with striking rock formations (= shapes made naturally from rock)
• The tunnel was blasted out of solid rock.

• volcanic/igneous/sedimentary, etc. rocks

2. countable a mass of rock standing above the earth's surface or in the sea/ocean
• the Rock of Gibraltar
• The ship crashed into the infamous Sker Point rocks and broke into three pieces.

3. countable a large single piece of rock
• They clambered over the rocks at the foot of the cliff.

• The sign said ‘Danger: falling rocks’.  

STONE

4. countable (NAmE) a small stone

• Protesters pelted the soldiers with rocks.  

MUSIC

5. (also ˈrock music) uncountable a type of loud popular music, developed in the 1960s, with a strong beat played on electric guitars and drums
• punk rock

• a rock band/star  

SWEET/CANDY

6. (BrE) uncountable a type of hard sweet/candy made in long sticks, often sold in places where people go on holiday/vacation by the sea/ocean

• a stick of Brighton rock  

JEWEL

7. countable, usually plural (NAmE, informal) a precious stone, especially a diamond  

PERSON
8. countable, usually singular a person who is emotionally strong and who you can rely on
• He is my rock.
more at (as) steady as a rock at  steady  _adj.  
Word Origin:
n. senses 1 to 4 and n. senses 6 to 7 Middle English Old French rocque medieval Latin rocca
n. sense 5 and v. late Old English roccian Germanic ‘remove, move’ Dutch rukken ‘jerk, tug’ German rücken ‘move’
 
Culture:
Rock (= the sweet) is usually flavoured with peppermint and coloured (usually bright pink) on the outside. In Britain, rock is sold especially in seaside towns, and has the name of the town all through the length of the stick on the inside.
See also Edinburgh rock
 
Culture:
Rock music developed in the 1960s from rock and roll. Rock later developed into forms such as folk rock and heavy metal. 
Thesaurus:
rock noun U, C
• They drilled through several layers of rock to reach the oil.
stone • • boulder • • pebble •
solid rock/stone
throw a rock/stone/boulder/pebble
Rock or stone? Rock U is still a part of the ground; stone U has been dug up from the ground:
• houses built of stone
 ¤ houses built of rock:
• the rock walls of the cave
 ¤ the stone walls of the cave In British English people throw stones and a rock is sth too big to pick up and throw. In American English rock is the usual word for a small piece of rock that you can pick up.  
Example Bank:
• A great rock jutted out into the water.
• Ahead the vegetation broke into bare rock.
• Children were looking for crabs in the rock pools.
• Lars taught me to skip rocks.
• Ryan changed the radio to a rock station.
• She was a rock chick through and through.
• Signs warn of the perils of falling rock.
• Solid rock is broken down by weathering.
• The castle is perched on a massive outcrop of rock.
• The path had been blocked by a rock fall.
• The river runs between walls of sheer rock.
• The rocks were slippery as I tried to climb them.
• They used to throw rocks at neighborhood dogs.
• You slept like a rock last night.
• an avalanche of loose rock
• influential rock critics
• one of the biggest bands on the rock circuit
• rocks that formed beneath the sea
• the king of rock and roll
• Demonstrators threw rocks at the police.
• a sea cave with striking rock formations
• volcanic/igneous/sedimentary rocks

Idioms: between a rock and a hard place ▪ get your rocks off ▪ on the rocks ▪ rock the boat 

hometown

home·town 7 [hometown]   [ˈhəʊmtaʊn]    [ˈhoʊmtaʊn]  noun
the place where you were born or lived as a child 
Example Bank:

• He married a girl from his hometown and they went back there to live.

birthplace

birth·place [birthplace birthplaces]   [ˈbɜːθpleɪs]    [ˈbɜːrθpleɪs]  noun

1. the house or area where a person was born, especially a famous person

2. the place where sth first happened
• Hawaii was the birthplace of surfing.  
Example Bank:

• Shrewsbury is famous for being the birthplace of Charles Darwin.

nationality

na·tion·al·ity [nationality nationalities]   [ˌnæʃəˈnæləti]    [ˌnæʃəˈnæləti]  noun (pl. na·tion·al·ities)
1. uncountable, countable the legal right of belonging to a particular nation
• to take/have/hold French nationality
• All applicants will be considered regardless of age, sex, religion or nationality.
• The college attracts students of all nationalities.

• She has dual nationality (= is a citizen of two countries).

2. countable a group of people with the same language, culture and history who form part of a political nation
• Kazakhstan alone contains more than a hundred nationalities.  
Example Bank:
• He accused them of discrimination on the grounds of nationality.
• He has dual British and South African nationality.
• He recently received the Spanish passport which grants him dual nationality.
• She is hoping to adopt Australian nationality.
• The pupils are of mixed nationality.
• a German-born composer who took British nationality
• cultural differences among various nationalities
• All applicants will be considered, regardless of age, sex, religion or nationality.
• She has dual nationality.
• The city is home to more than a hundred nationalities.

• to take/have/hold French nationality

failure

fail·ure [failure failures]   [ˈfeɪljə(r)]    [ˈfeɪljər]  noun

NOT SUCCESSFUL
1. uncountable lack of success in doing or achieving sth
• The success or failure of the plan depends on you.
• The attempt was doomed to failure.
• All my efforts ended in failure.
• the problems of economic failure and increasing unemployment
• She is still coming to terms with the failure of her marriage.

Opp:  success

2. countable a person or thing that is not successful
• The whole thing was a complete failure.
• He was a failure as a teacher.
• A team learns from experience, both successes and failures.

Opp:  success  

NOT DOING STH

3. uncountable, countable ~ to do sth an act of not doing sth, especially sth that you are expected to do
• the failure of the United Nations to maintain food supplies
• Failure to comply with the regulations will result in prosecution.

• His confession followed repeated failures to appear in court.  

OF MACHINE/PART OF BODY

4. uncountable, countable the state of not working correctly or as expected; an occasion when this happens
• patients suffering from heart/kidney, etc. failure
• Production has been hampered by mechanical failure.
• A power failure plunged everything into darkness.

• The cause of the crash was given as engine failure.  

OF BUSINESS

5. countable, uncountable business ~ a situation in which a business has to close because it is not successful

• an alarming increase in business failures  

OF CROP/HARVEST

6. uncountable, countable crop/harvest ~ a situation in which crops do not grow correctly and do not produce food
• Bad weather has resulted in crop failure.  
Word Origin:
mid 17th cent. (originally as failer, in the senses ‘non-occurrence’ and ‘stopping of supply’): from Anglo-Norman French failer for Old French faillir, based on Latin fallere ‘deceive’.  
Thesaurus:
failure noun
1.
• The marriage ended in failure.
collapse • • breakdown •
Opp: success
a failure/collapse/breakdown in sth
contribute to/lead to/result in/cause/avoid the failure/collapse/breakdown (of sth)
end in failure/breakdown (of sth)
2. C
• The whole thing was a complete failure.
disaster • • catastrophe • • debacle • |informal fiasco • • washout • • flop •
Opp: success
a failure/disaster/catastrophe for sb
a total failure/disaster/catastrophe/debacle/fiasco/washout/flop
a financial failure/disaster/debacle/fiasco
3. C
• He was a failure as a teacher.
disappointment • |disapproving incompetent • |informal, disapproving loser • • disaster • • no-hoper •
Opp: success
be a failure/disappointment/disaster as sth
a complete failure/loser/disaster/no-hoper 
Example Bank:
• All her efforts were doomed to failure.
• Business failures rose by 30% in 2001.
• Children who are doing badly tend to expect failure and criticism.
• Fear of failure should not deter you from trying.
• He attributes the failure of the project to lack of government support.
• He lamented his failure to formulate a satisfactory theory.
• He was too proud to admit failure.
• Her ideas were large: if she could not succeed, she would at least be a heroic failure.
• Her parents had long since branded her a failure.
• I blame the failure of our relationship on my husband.
• I felt (like) a complete failure.
• I will not tolerate failure.
• Initial failure was followed by unexpected, if modest, success.
• John had a long history of academic failure.
• Nothing can excuse your failure to ask my permission.
• The aircraft seems to have experienced an engine failure.
• The attempt ended in abject failure.
• The decision to withdraw funding represents a failure of imagination.
• The film was one of the rare failures in his career.
• The venture proved a costly failure.
• There is a high failure rate with this treatment.
• This breach constitutes a serious failure in performance.
• War is the ultimate failure of public communication.
• a failure in the computer system
• a rare viral infection that can lead to heart failure
• economic failure and increasing unemployment
• failures arising from circumstances beyond your control
• government failure to listen to the voice of the electorate
• patients with chronic renal failure
• seeking to excuse his failure to ask her permission
• the commonest cause of acute liver failure
• to learn from past failures
• All my efforts ended in failure.
• Failure to comply with the regulations will result in prosecution.
• His confession followed repeated failures to appear in court.
• The attempt was doomed to failure.
• The project was considered a failure in both technical and economic terms.
• The rebellion was a dismal failure.
• There has been an alarming increase in business failures.

• patients suffering from heart/kidney failure