Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A noisy celebration.
  • noun A large assembly, often international, especially of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts.
  • noun A mass gathering or assembly, as of a political party or association.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A carousal; a noisy drinking-bout; a spree; hence, any noisy merrymaking.
  • noun In the game of euchre, a lone hand containing the five highest cards and counting the holder 16 points, played by agreement.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Slang A noisy or unrestrained carousal or frolic; a spree.
  • noun a large festive gathering.
  • noun an assembly of boy scouts, usually at the national or international level, including camping among the activities; -- a term adopted by the Boy Scouts organization.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A lavish or boisterous celebration or party.
  • noun A large rally of Scouts or Guides.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a gay festivity

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Unknown 19th century American slang. Chosen by Baden-Powell in 1919 for use in Scout Movement.

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Examples

  • (The term jamboree, according to the official Boy Scout etymology, was coined by Boy Scouts founder Lord Robert Baden-Powell to mean a gathering of Scouts.)

    Thousands head to Va. for Boy Scout jamboree 2010

  • Toronto's huge literary jamboree is both aggressively international and fiercely Canadian

    At the International Festival of Authors Robert McCrum 2010

  • Canada hopes to participate this coming summer in the second American jamboree, which is being held in historic Valley Forge.

    Scouts Today—Men Tomorrow 1950

  • A jamboree is a glorified practice, a chance to play another team without counting the result as a victory or a defeat.

    The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO Home 2010

  • Included at the jamboree will be the I.C.E. Tour Family Fan Fest.

    Islanders Top Stories 2009

  • FREDERICKTOWN - For the past 32 years, the tomato show has been the venue to end the summer season with a blast, and highlighting the jamboree is the Little Miss Tomato Contest.

    Mount Vernon News 2009

  • Talbott said the jamboree is a celebration of rugged individualism that manifests itself in the way a person steps up to a challenge, as well as athletic prowess.

    billingsgazette.com 2009

  • Colinette's "jamboree" has most in one yarn I think ?

    computer worries, woe is me:( ambermoggie 2006

  • Beginning with the "jamboree," which came off quite in accordance with Calderwell's prophecies, Arkwright spent the most of such time as was not given to his professional duties in deliberately cultivating the society of Bertram and his friends.

    Miss Billy -- Married 1914

  • But the last time I saw him he was on a "jamboree," or spree, and killed his unfortunate horse by tying it up without feeding it or giving it water while he was drinking or drunk, and so he did not make his usual trip.

    A Tramp's Notebook Morley Roberts 1899

Comments

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  • Lol, showing either your age WeirdNET or deep insight into sexual politics.

    April 5, 2008

  • Nah, we don't call them jamborees. ;->

    April 6, 2008

  • "Seduced, England's two best cricketers hauled off to the IPL in April and May, with the meek blessing of their board, and came home from that jamboree in such poor bodily repair that neither was able to play in the rout of Headingley, and neither is guaranteed to play in the death-or-glory finale at the The Oval."

    - Greg Baum, Ashes gap subtle as Twenty20 bash, theage.com.au, 11 August 2009.

    August 11, 2009