dancer

noun

DAN-sur/ˈdæns.ɚ/UKDAHN-suh/ˈdɑːns.ə(ɹ)/

3 meanings of dancer

1
nouncountable
Someone who moves their body in time to music, for fun or as a job.
Like a singer, but instead of using their voice, they use their whole body to move.
The dancer spun quickly across the floor.
She joined a group of dancers at the school show.
Note
2
nouneuphemisticcountable
A polite word for a stripper: a performer who takes off clothing as part of a show.
She works as a dancer at an adult club on weekends.
The club hired two new dancers for the late show.
Similarstripper
Note
3
nounobsolete
A thief who climbed over rooftops to break in through high attic windows.
The dancer waited for dark, then crossed three roofs to reach the attic window.
[A]bout 40 were burglars, "dancers," "garreters," and other adepts with the skeleton keys.
1889, Charles Tempest Clarkson, J. Hall RichardsonHere, dancers means thieves who broke in through high attic windows from rooftops.
Note

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English dauncer. It comes from the word 'dance' plus '-er'.