What does dance mean?

Definitions for dance
dæns, dɑnsdance

Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word dance.

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

dance(noun)
an artistic form of nonverbal communication
dance(noun)
a party of people assembled for dancing
dancing, dance, terpsichore, saltation(noun)
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
dance(verb)
a party for social dancing
dance(verb)
move in a graceful and rhythmical way
"The young girl danced into the room"
dance, trip the light fantastic, trip the light fantastic toe(verb)
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"
dance(verb)
skip, leap, or move up and down or sideways
"Dancing flames"; "The children danced with joy"

Wiktionary(2.67 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

dance(Noun)
A sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually performed to music, for pleasure or as a form of social interaction.
Etymology: daunsen, from dancer (compare dancier), from (compare danson), from (compare Old Dutch þinsan, Old High German dinsan, 03380339033D03430330033D, from þansōnan, from þinsanan, from ten-s. See thin.
dance(Noun)
A social gathering where dancing is designed to take place.
Etymology: daunsen, from dancer (compare dancier), from (compare danson), from (compare Old Dutch þinsan, Old High German dinsan, 03380339033D03430330033D, from þansōnan, from þinsanan, from ten-s. See thin.
dance(Noun)
A fess that has been modified to zig-zag across the center of a coat of arms from dexter to sinister.
Etymology: daunsen, from dancer (compare dancier), from (compare danson), from (compare Old Dutch þinsan, Old High German dinsan, 03380339033D03430330033D, from þansōnan, from þinsanan, from ten-s. See thin.
dance(Noun)
A genre of modern music characterised by sampled beats, repetitive rhythms and few lyrics.
Etymology: daunsen, from dancer (compare dancier), from (compare danson), from (compare Old Dutch þinsan, Old High German dinsan, 03380339033D03430330033D, from þansōnan, from þinsanan, from ten-s. See thin.
dance(Noun)
The art, profession, and study of dancing.
Etymology: daunsen, from dancer (compare dancier), from (compare danson), from (compare Old Dutch þinsan, Old High German dinsan, 03380339033D03430330033D, from þansōnan, from þinsanan, from ten-s. See thin.
dance(Verb)
To move with rhythmic steps or movements, especially in time to music.
I danced with her all night long.
Etymology: daunsen, from dancer (compare dancier), from (compare danson), from (compare Old Dutch þinsan, Old High German dinsan, 03380339033D03430330033D, from þansōnan, from þinsanan, from ten-s. See thin.
dance(Verb)
To leap or move lightly and rapidly.
Etymology: daunsen, from dancer (compare dancier), from (compare danson), from (compare Old Dutch þinsan, Old High German dinsan, 03380339033D03430330033D, from þansōnan, from þinsanan, from ten-s. See thin.
dance(Verb)
To perform the steps to.
Have you ever danced the tango?
Etymology: daunsen, from dancer (compare dancier), from (compare danson), from (compare Old Dutch þinsan, Old High German dinsan, 03380339033D03430330033D, from þansōnan, from þinsanan, from ten-s. See thin.

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

Dance(verb)
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
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.]
Dance(verb)
to move nimbly or merrily; to express pleasure by motion; to caper; to frisk; to skip about
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.]
Dance(verb)
to cause to dance, or move nimbly or merrily about, or up and down; to dandle
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.]
Dance(verb)
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
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.]
Dance(verb)
a tune by which dancing is regulated, as the minuet, the waltz, the cotillon, etc
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(4.63 / 8 votes)Rate this definition:

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:

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:

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

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

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

British National Corpus

Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'dance' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3378
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'dance' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3034
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'dance' in Nouns Frequency: #1241
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'dance' in Verbs Frequency: #505

Anagrams for dance »

acned, Caden, caned, decan

How to pronounce dance?

Alex
US English
Daniel
British
Karen
Australian
Veena
Indian

How to say dance in sign language?

Numerology

Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of dance in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of dance in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of dance in a Sentence

Musin Almat Zhumabekovich:
You rasta fire, you are my sex drug, I sing soul about my sincere love. Sultry, sweet candy, know that you are a mega cool chocolate Barbie. You are cool as cool gangsta rap hip-hop beats, your thinking is like a pair of trunks in your hands, sweet, juicy, cool as always awesome. Character as the handwriting of your soul is also beautiful as a beautiful graffiti. My soul is dancing an old school break dance when i see you. Every night I am thirsty to make sex-quake with you all to the envy of our love shock. You are my dream, my love, my goal. You are the favorite love melody of my soul and I like only you. Author: Musin Almat Zhumabekovich
Abby Lee Miller:
I cannot be a fan of this shoot, there are so many amazing dancers in the world… Kendall Jenner is not one of them! Shame on Momager, Kris Jenner!!! She never made these kids take dance class. She better get North West to the @aldcstudiola before it’s too late!
Deodatta V. Shenai-Khatkhate:
Dancing with your demons empowers you, and surely enables you to reclaim your lost powers. It takes tremendous courage to face your demons, invite them to tea, dance with them, reach an impasse, and finally, conquer them for ever. That’s exactly what Buddha did, while seeking Enlightenment under Bodhi tree, after realizing that fighting his demons off was getting nowhere. You must develop courage to face your demons, such as anger, fear, greed, guilt, jealousy, lack of self-esteem, undue pride, and anything that is stopping you from reaching Perfection. You must bravely enter the territory that many fear to tread. Dance with your demons, and by God’s grace you will succeed.
Alice Walker:
Us sing and dance, make faces and give flower bouquets, trying to be loved. You ever notice that trees do everything to git attention we do, except walk
Matthew Bennett:
[children] do silly things they dance around, they run around, they dont walk economically in one direction, it makes statistical sense that we should be finding lots of childrens footprints.