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Synonyms
Examples of mojo in a Sentence
Genevieve Monsma, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2024
Brady won a Super Bowl in Tampa, and all of Belichick’s mojo and magic seemed to leave with him.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 1 Feb. 2024
The Spartans, who lost at Nebraska five days after falling at home to the Badgers, rediscovered their mojo in late December.
—Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 26 Jan. 2024
While other teams have their mojo, the Trojans women have their JuJu.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
The Colorado Avalanche lost their mojo during an extended break in conjunction with the All-Star game.
—Corey Masisak, The Denver Post, 10 Feb. 2024
This was definitely a must-win for us for our mojo, for our swagger.
—Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 28 Jan. 2024
Trojans show mojo beyond JuJu Because of Watkins dropping a season-high 51 points on Stanford in the teams’ only regular-season meeting — a 67-58 USC win on Feb. 2 — the Cardinal devised an anyone-but-JuJu game plan for the rematch.
—Jeff Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Reclaiming your mojo is as good a reason as any to go somewhere new, take a chance on a new adventure, and shine for your knowledge.
—Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mojo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Noun (1)
probably of African origin; akin to Fulani moco'o medicine man
Noun (2)
borrowed from Cuban Spanish, noun derivative of Spanish mojar "to make wet, moisten," going back to Vulgar Latin *molliāre — more at moil entry 1
Note: Attestations of Spanish mojo in approximately the sense of the definition go back to at least the early twentieth century, to judge from the following passage: "Un puerco ahumado con hojas de guayaba, con plátano verde y mojo de naranja agria, es el alimento predilecto del guajiro criollo." (A. Pompeyo, "Protesta de un cuerdo," Cuba y América, revista illustrada, vol. 14, no. 1, January 3, 1904, p. 17; "A hog cooked [literally, smoked] with guava leaves, green plantain and mojo of sour orange is the favorite dish of the native-born countryman.") The sauce is described earlier without inclusion of citrus in an account of Cuba by the American Samuel Hazard: "El aporreado is made of half raw meat, dressed with water, vinegar, salt, etc., which operation is known as perdigar (or stewing in an earthen pan); then mashed and stirred together it is fried slightly in a sauce (mojo) of lard, tomatoes, garlic, onions, and peppers" (Cuba with Pen and Pencil, Hartford CT, 1871, pp. 537-38). A similar description can be found in the anonymous cookbook El cocinero de los enfermos, convalecientes y desganados (Havana, 1862): "… el mojo, que es una fritura de tomates, cebollas, ajíes dulces con manteca y sal" (p. 41; "mojo, which is a fried mix of tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers with lard and salt"). See also mojito.
Phrases Containing mojo
Dictionary Entries Near mojo
Cite this Entry
“Mojo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mojo. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
Noun
probably of African origin
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