Word.ws English Dictionary

illbient

UK/ˈɪl.bi.ənt/

illbient noun: a music genre with layered soundscapes, dub and hip-hop influences (including the use of samples), and a progressive approach to beat programming.

Noun

illbient (uncountable)

  1. A music genre with layered soundscapes, dub and hip-hop influences (including the use of samples), and a progressive approach to beat programming.
    • This describes the sound of what is known as illbient, a genre of electronic music that arose in New York in the mid-1990s. The first illbient compilations were released by the Asphodel label—Crooklyn Dub Consortium Vol. 1 in 1995 and Incursions in Illbient in 1996—and Olive was involved with both...2012, Mark Katz, Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ, Oxford University Press, →ISBN

Origin of illbient

Blend of ill + ambient; coinage attributed to DJ Olive (Gregor Asch). See hip-hop slang sense of ill.

Questions about illbient

What does illbient mean?
Illbient means a music genre with layered soundscapes, dub and hip-hop influences (including the use of samples), and a progressive approach to beat programming.
What part of speech is illbient?
Illbient is a noun.
How do you pronounce illbient?
Illbient is pronounced /ˈɪl.bi.ənt/ (UK).

Words near illbient in the dictionary

  1. Illawarra Shorthorn
  2. Illawarra Shorthorns
  3. Illawarras
  4. Illawong
  5. illbeing
  6. illbient
  7. illbred
  8. illderly
  9. Ille
  10. Ille-et-Vilaine
  11. illeagle

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: illbient (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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