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dance

AUSDANS/dæns/DAHNS/dɑːns/

Verbdances, dancing, danced

Noun pluraldances

15 meanings of dance

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  1. 1
    move to musicverbintransitive
    To move your body in time to music, or to do a certain dance such as a tango.

    Like swaying and stepping in time, the way people move when a happy song plays.

    We love to dance whenever our favorite song comes on.

    She danced all night at the wedding.

    UsageSay dance with someone. Ask Do you want to dance?

    Note
  2. 2
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A set of rhythmic steps and movements done to music, often for fun or to be with others.

    They learned a traditional dance for the harvest festival.

    Each dance told a different story through movement.

    UsageSay do a dance or learn a dance.

    Similarroutine

  3. 3
    noununcountable
    The art and skill of moving to music, learned or done as a job.

    She studied dance at a famous school in New York.

    Modern dance combines many different styles and traditions.

    UsageSay study dance, with no a.

  4. 4
    nouncountable or uncountable
    An event where people come together mainly to dance.

    The school dance is next Friday in the gym.

    She met her husband at a country dance years ago.

    UsageSay go to a dance: the school dance.

    Similarball, hop

  5. 5
    club musicnoununcountable
    Music, usually made with electronic instruments, that is meant for people to dance to in clubs.

    She listens to dance while she works out at the gym.

    The radio station plays dance all weekend long.

    UsageSay listen to dance, or dance music.

  6. 6
    move lightlyverbintransitive
    To move quickly and lightly, jumping or skipping about.

    Like the way sunlight jumps and shakes on moving water.

    Sunlight danced on the surface of the lake.

    Flames dance in the fireplace on cold evenings.

    UsageOften said of light or fire: dance on the water, dance across the wall.

    Similarflicker, skip, flutter, bob, prance

    Note
  7. 7
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A piece of music written with the beat of a certain dance.

    The composer wrote a cheerful dance for the third part of the piece.

    The fiddler struck up a quick country dance.

  8. 8
    nouncountablefigurative
    A careful set of moves and replies between people or groups, like partners dancing together.

    The two leaders did a careful dance around the question of money.

    Buying a house turned into a long dance between us and the seller.

    UsageOften a careful dance or a delicate dance.

    Note

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Origin

Its first origin is uncertain. The word goes back to Vulgar Latin *dantiāre, which turned into Anglo-Norman dauncer and then Middle English dauncen.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • The word's ultimate origin is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
  • The word derives through Anglo-Norman dauncer from reconstructed Vulgar Latin *dantiāre. en.wiktionary.org
  • Middle English dauncen, the ancestor of modern English dance, was borrowed from Anglo-Norman dauncer. en.wiktionary.org