Definitions for dance
dæns, dɑnsdance

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. dancenoun

   an artistic form of nonverbal communication

2. dancenoun

   a party of people assembled for dancing

3. dancing, dance, terpsichore, saltationnoun

   taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music

4. danceverb

   a party for social dancing

5. danceverb

   move in a graceful and rhythmical way

   "The young girl danced into the room"

6. dance, trip the light fantastic, trip the light fantastic toeverb

   move in a pattern; usually to musical accompaniment; do or perform a dance

   "My husband and I like to dance at home to the radio"

7. danceverb

   skip, leap, or move up and down or sideways

   "Dancing flames"; "The children danced with joy"

Wiktionary(2.50 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. dancenoun

   A sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually performed to music, for pleasure or as a form of social interaction.

2. dancenoun

   A social gathering where dancing is designed to take place.

3. dancenoun

   A fess that has been modified to zig-zag across the center of a coat of arms from dexter to sinister.

4. dancenoun

   A genre of modern music characterised by sampled beats, repetitive rhythms and few lyrics.

5. dancenoun

   The art, profession, and study of dancing.

6. danceverb

   To move with rhythmic steps or movements, especially in time to music.

   I danced with her all night long.

7. danceverb

   To leap or move lightly and rapidly.

8. danceverb

   To perform the steps to.

   Have you ever danced the tango?

9. Etymology: daunsen, from dancer (compare dancier), from (compare danson), from (compare Old Dutch þinsan, Old High German dinsan,
   0338
   0339
   033D
   0343
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   033D, from þansōnan, from þinsanan, from ten-s. See thin.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Dancenoun

   A motion of one or many in concert, regulated by musick.

   Etymology: from the verb.

   Our dance of custom, round about the oak of Herne the hunter. William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor.

   The honourablest part of talk is to give the occasion, and again to moderate and pass to somewhat else; for then a man leads the dance. Francis Bacon, Essay 33.

   But you perhaps expect a modish feast,
   With am’rous songs and wanton dances grac’d. John Dryden, Juv.

2. To Danceverb

   1. To make to dance; to put into a lively motion.

   Thy grandsire lov’d thee well;
   Many a time he danc’d thee on his knee. William Shakespeare, Tit. Andron.

   That I see thee here,
   Thou noble thing! more dances my rapt’ heart,
   Than when I first my wedded mistress saw
   Bestride my threshold. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   In pestilences the malignity of the infecting vapour danceth the principal spirits. Francis Bacon, Natural History, №. 333.

3. To DANCEverb

   Etymology: danser, Fr. dançar, Span. as some think from tanza, Arabick, a dance; as Franciscus Junius, who loves to derive from Greek, thinks, from δόνησις.

   1. To move in measure; to move with steps correspondent to the sound of instruments.

   What say you to young Mr. Fenton? He capers, he dances, he has eyes of youth, he writes verses. William Shakespeare, Mer. W. of Winds.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Danceverb

   to move with measured steps, or to a musical accompaniment; to go through, either alone or in company with others, with a regulated succession of movements, (commonly) to the sound of music; to trip or leap rhythmically

2. Danceverb

   to move nimbly or merrily; to express pleasure by motion; to caper; to frisk; to skip about

3. Danceverb

   to cause to dance, or move nimbly or merrily about, or up and down; to dandle

4. Danceverb

   the leaping, tripping, or measured stepping of one who dances; an amusement, in which the movements of the persons are regulated by art, in figures and in accord with music

5. Danceverb

   a tune by which dancing is regulated, as the minuet, the waltz, the cotillon, etc

6. Etymology: [F. danser, fr. OHG. dansn to draw; akin to dinsan to draw, Goth. apinsan, and prob. from the same root (meaning to stretch) as E. thin. See Thin.]

Freebase(4.67 / 9 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Dance

   Dance is a type of art that generally involves movement of the body, often rhythmic and to music. It is performed in many cultures as a form of emotional expression, social interaction, or exercise, in a spiritual or performance setting, and is sometimes used to express ideas or tell a story. Dance may also be regarded as a form of nonverbal communication between humans or other animals, as in bee dances and behaviour patterns such as a mating dances. Definitions of what constitutes dance can depend on social and cultural norms and aesthetic, artistic and moral sensibilities. Definitions may range from functional movement to virtuoso techniques such as ballet. Martial arts kata are often compared to dances, and sports such as gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are generally thought to incorporate dance. There are many styles and genres of dance. African dance is interpretative. Ballet, ballroom and tango are classical dance styles. Square dance and electric slide are forms of step dance, and breakdancing is a type of street dance. Dance can be participatory, social, or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. Dance movements may be without significance in themselves, as in ballet or European folk dance, or have a gestural vocabulary or symbolic meaning as in some Asian dances.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Dance

   dans, v.i. to move with measured steps to music: to spring.—v.t. to make to dance or jump.—n. the movement of one or more persons with measured steps to music: the tune to which dancing is performed.—ns. Dance′-mū′sic, music specially arranged for accompanying dancing; Danc′er, one who practises dancing; Danc′ing, the act or art of moving in the dance; Danc′ing-girl, a professional dancer; Danc′ing-mas′ter, a teacher of dancing.—Dance a bear (obs.), to exhibit a performing bear; Dance attendance, to wait obsequiously; Dance of death, a series of allegorical paintings symbolising the universal power of death, represented as a skeleton; Dance upon nothing, to be hanged.—Lead a person a dance, to set him on an undertaking under false hopes: to delude.—Merry dancers, the aurora. [O. Fr. danser, from Teut.; Old High Ger. danson, to draw along.]

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. DANCE

   A brisk, physical exercise, invented by St. Vitus.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. dance

   To move our body to the rhythm of music.

   We love to dance to our favourite music.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 1, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Art
   • Diversion
   • Move
   • Party
   • Performing Arts

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dance' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3378

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dance' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3034

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dance' in Nouns Frequency: #1241

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dance' in Verbs Frequency: #505

Anagrams for dance »

1. acned

2. Caden

3. caned

4. decan

How to pronounce dance?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say dance in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of dance in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of dance in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of dance in a Sentence

1. Lois Greenfield:

   And out of this improvisation comes a moment that can't be part of a dance, it becomes more of a personal moment, a moment about expressive gestures. And they're often, I call them, enigmatic or ambiguous moments.

2. Shah Asad Rizvi:

   Make dance the mission every moment seeks to accomplish

3. Heidi Klum:

   Ding dong, here I am, 'Hi Snoop.' He's like, 'Come on in. OK, what you got?' And I was like, 'Well, I got this, you want to hear it?' And he's like, 'Let's hear it.' [After listening to it, he said], 'Oh, it's an EDM [electronic dance music] track,'.

4. Cristian Andrei Nica:

   Love doesn't hurt, and won't fade away with the memory either. There's no right or wrong, no past, no future. Just beauty, noticed on the inside, thanks to the ones we care for the most. Encouragement, to dedicate yourself and protect. So join the dance, attach and then let go if you need to. Ain't no escape, it always finds a way to touch you deep inside, because love is part of who you are.

5. Alan Watts:

   The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

Popularity rank by frequency of use