Meaning & use
Vamping
Last updated
Improvising a simple, repeated musical accompaniment, typically on piano or guitar.
See it in a sentence
The pianist kept vamping on the same chords while the singer found her key.
The band was vamping quietly as the host finished his introduction.
A note on using this word
In an older, now dated sense, 'vamping' also meant behaving seductively, since a 'vamp' referred to a seductive woman in early twentieth-century slang.
Words with a similar meaning
improvisingnoodling
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. verb
(dated, informal) Behaving in a seductive or flirtatious manner to attract someone.
She was accused of vamping every new employee in the office.
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