emcee

1 of 2

noun

em·​cee ˌem-ˈsē How to pronounce emcee (audio)
plural emcees
1
: master of ceremonies
especially : a person who acts as host for a program of entertainment
The emcee primes the crowd and rock music pulses, bolstered by lasers and fireworks. Allison Glock
2
: a performer of rap music : rapper
… MC Lyte, the first female hip-hop emcee to release a solo album …Deena Zaru

emcee

2 of 2

verb

emceed; emceeing; emcees

transitive + intransitive

1
: to perform the role of a master of ceremonies : to act as emcee for
emceed an awards dinner
… he reports that one week after the surgery he was back emceeing at the Improv …Roger Friedman
2
: to perform rap music : rap
… [DMX's] love of hip-hop—from production to emceeing—built his name as an underground force in New York City.Kevin L. Clark
… [Lauryn] Hill was so wildly proficient at singing and emceeingClover Hope
The Hulu personality [Khloé Kardashian] followed up by emceeing her own verse, rapping, "Then my birthday is in June / And I'm gonna need you to help me make my cake, too."Kat Pettibone

Examples of emcee in a Sentence

Noun acted as emcee for the evening's entertainment at the political convention Verb She agreed to emcee at an awards dinner.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Throughout the concert, Bob the Drag Queen serves as emcee, appearing during different moments interacting with Madonna. Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 12 Mar. 2024 Jimmy Kimmel is a competent host, and did a satisfying job as the evening’s emcee, but passing the reins to a new stand-up comic with the right sensibilities and love of movies to highlight an evening such as the Oscars is more than appropriate at this point. Clayton Davis, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 Sunday’s ceremony marked Kimmel’s fourth time as the night’s emcee. Lexy Perez, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024 Bob Hope holds the record for the most times as the Oscars' master of ceremonies at 19, but hosts now rarely return to emcee after their first or second time. Alex Sundby, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2024 Marking his fourth time as host, Jimmy Kimmel will return to emcee this year’s 96th Academy Awards on March 10. Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 Four-time host Trevor Noah had his emcee routine down so pat that the unpredictable comedian proved predictable. Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2024 The event’s emcee, DJ Bleau, made sure to get the crowd going. Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan. 2024 As 2024 is the Year of the Dragon, dragon statues fashioned from colorful flowers will be stationed near the Historic Main Street sign to welcome attendees, said Sophie Tran, this year’s emcee who likened the festival to another popular American New Year’s tradition. Theresa Cisneros, Orange County Register, 24 Jan. 2024
Verb
Legendary radio host Big Boy will emcee the ceremony and Dre’s longtime collaborator Snoop Dogg and fellow music impresario Jimmy Iovine will deliver remarks. Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Jimmy Kimmel will host the 2024 Oscars tonight at 7 p.m. EDT at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, joining a small group of legendary entertainers who have emceed the Academy Awards more than three times in its nearly 100-year history. Alex Sundby, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2024 San Diego Spotlight: TV host Kimberly King will emcee this event featuring performances by a dozen or more San Diego arts organizations. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2024 Noah, 39, recently spoke to PEOPLE ahead of his fourth year hosting the awards show and opened up about what he's learned from emceeing the show in the past. Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 31 Jan. 2024 Guests like Elle Fanning, Marc Jacobs, Laura Dern and Margaret Qualley played four rounds of Chanel bingo emceed by Saturday Night Live star Chloe Fineman. Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Sep. 2023 Rex will bring out his drag alter-ego, Regina Moon Dee, to emcee at the bar. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024 The beautiful evening was emceed by Comedian Kim Coles, who kept the evening flowing in a lighthearted manner. Shelby Stewart, Essence, 5 Mar. 2024 Queen Latifah will return to host the 55th annual NAACP Image Awards after emceeing the ceremony for the first time last year. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'emcee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

MC

First Known Use

Noun

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1937, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of emcee was in 1930

Dictionary Entries Near emcee

Cite this Entry

“Emcee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emcee. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

emcee

1 of 2 noun
em·​cee ˈem-ˈsē How to pronounce emcee (audio)

emcee

2 of 2 verb
emceed; emceeing
: to act as master of ceremonies for something : host
emcee a television show
Etymology

Noun

an altered form of M.C., from master of ceremonies

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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