disco

disco — noun

1. A social event or venue where recorded pop music is played and people dance, oft

1.nounB1
Definition

A social event or venue where recorded pop music is played and people dance, often with a DJ and flashing coloured lights.

Example

Mayumi and Hassan went to a disco on Saturday night.

go to a disco

The school gym was turned into a disco for the end-of-year party.

Common collocations
  • go to a disco
  • at a disco
  • local disco
Synonyms
  • nightclub

    the most common modern term for an evening venue with music and dancing

  • discotheque

    the original French-derived full form; sounds formal or dated today

  • club

    informal shortening of nightclub

Grammar Patterns

a disco

at a disco

go to a disco

Usage Note

In modern English, 'nightclub' or 'club' is more common for venues where people dance. 'Disco' often sounds slightly retro or old-fashioned.

Common Mistakes

Let's go to disco tonight.
Let's go to a disco tonight.
'disco' as a place is a countable noun and needs an article or determiner.

2. A dance-oriented genre of pop music with a strong beat and electronic sounds, mo

2.nounA2
Definition

A dance-oriented genre of pop music with a strong beat and electronic sounds, most strongly associated with the club scene of the 1970s.

Example

Rania loves listening to disco music from the 1970s.

disco music from the [decade]

The band played a mix of disco and funk at the summer festival.

Common collocations
  • disco music
  • disco song
  • disco beat
  • disco era
Synonyms
  • dance music

    broader category that includes disco and many later genres

  • funk

    a related genre with a stronger focus on bass and rhythm sections

Grammar Patterns

disco music

listen to disco

a disco song

Usage Note

Commonly used as an uncountable noun: 'I love disco.' When referring to individual tracks, it can be countable: 'The DJ played my favourite disco.'

Common Mistakes

I listen to a disco music.
I listen to disco music.
'disco music' is uncountable and does not take the article 'a'.

disco — verb

disco — combining form

Word family

  • discotheque
    nounB2
  • disc
    nounB1
  • discography
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Disco, nightclub, club, discotheque, and dance hall are all terms for places where people go to dance to music. Disco specifically evokes the 1970s style with flashing lights and a DJ playing recorded music, and today carries a slightly retro or nostalgic tone. Nightclub is the most common modern term for an evening venue with music, dancing, and drinks. Club is an informal shortening of nightclub used in everyday speech. Discotheque is the original full French-derived term that gave us 'disco' — it sounds quite formal or dated in modern English. Dance hall is older and usually implies live music rather than a DJ playing records. For example: 'We went to a nightclub downtown' sounds completely contemporary, while 'We went to a disco' suggests a themed or retro event.

nightclub ↗club ↗discothequedance hall

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • disco music
  • disco ball
  • disco lights
  • disco party

Prepositions

Etymology

FrenchEnglish

Disco is a shortened form of discotheque, which comes from French discothèque — a combination of disque ('record') and bibliothèque ('library'). The term first referred to a place where records were stored and played, and became associated with dance clubs in the 1960s. By the 1970s, 'disco' had become the standard name for the music genre and the venues where it was played.