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  • Charleston
    Charleston
    noun
    a vigorous, rhythmic ballroom dance popular in the 1920s.
  • charleston
    charleston
    noun
    a fast rhythmic dance of the 1920s, characterized by kicking and by twisting of the legs from the knee down
Synonyms

Charleston

1 American  
[chahrlz-tuhn, chahrl-stuhn] / ˈtʃɑrlz tən, ˈtʃɑrl stən /

noun

  1. a vigorous, rhythmic ballroom dance popular in the 1920s.

verb (used without object)

  1. to dance the Charleston.

Charleston 2 American  
[chahrlz-tuhn, chahrl-stuhn] / ˈtʃɑrlz tən, ˈtʃɑrl stən /

noun

  1. a seaport in SE South Carolina.

  2. a city in and the capital of West Virginia, in the W part.

  3. a city in E central Illinois.

Charleston 1 British  
/ ˈtʃɑːlstən /

noun

  1. a city in central West Virginia: the state capital. Pop: 51 394 (2003 est)

  2. a port in SE South Carolina, on the Atlantic: scene of the first action in the Civil War. Pop: 101 024 (2003 est)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
charleston 2 British  
/ ˈtʃɑːlstən /

noun

  1. a fast rhythmic dance of the 1920s, characterized by kicking and by twisting of the legs from the knee down

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Charleston 1 Cultural  

  1. Two cities in the South: one a port city in southeastern South Carolina, the other the capital of West Virginia.

Charleston 2 Cultural  

  1. A fast-paced dance, with elaborate arm movements, that became a craze in the United States during the 1920s.

Etymology

Origin of Charleston

Named after Charleston, South Carolina

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.

New York City was the site of the second-largest disparity last year; Jacksonville and Tampa, both in Florda, came in third and fourth, respectively; and Charleston, S.C., came in fifth.

From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026

The Charleston plant is operated by Volvo, which is controlled by Geely, and currently produces Volvo and Polestar models.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

Bradley Cobb, 47, a UPS driver and a preacher in Charleston, another county seat, said he, his wife and their voting-age children all support anti-prison candidates.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

The car was pulled over at a Circle K in Mount Pleasant, S.C., east of Charleston, for an illegal lane change, the report said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

To make matters worse, Annabeth had been distant ever since they had left Charleston.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

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.