ballroom
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ballroom
Explanation
A ballroom is a room that has enough space for many people to dance. Traditionally, a ballroom has either a hardwood or marble floor. Most private houses are built without ballrooms these days, but it was once common for a grand home or mansion to include a special room for throwing dance parties. These ballrooms were large, with high ceilings, and could accommodate a live band and many dancers. Ballroom dancing was originally a formal, social dance form that only happened in ballrooms. The word comes from ball, or party, with the Latin root ballare, "to dance."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The production’s radical concept brings the queer audacity of Harlem Ballroom culture to these feline proceedings.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
To hear her booming vocals on a recent Wednesday, you had to make your way to the Sunset Vista Ballroom at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
We’ll see if she can introduce it before Florida Rep. Randy Fine, who plans to file the “Build the Ballroom Act.”
From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026
"This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House," Trump wrote.
From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026
He had left a message that over at the Roseland State Ballroom, the shoeshine boy was quitting that night, and Shorty had told him to hold the job for me.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
