prance
Americanverb (used without object)
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prances,
present (3rd person singular)
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pranced,
past participle, past
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prancing
present participle
-
to spring from the hind legs; to move by springing, as a horse.
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to ride on a horse doing this.
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to ride gaily, proudly, or insolently.
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to move or go in an elated manner; cavort.
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to dance or move in a lively or spirited manner; caper.
verb (used with object)
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prances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pranced,
past participle, past
-
prancing
present participle
noun
verb
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(intr) to swagger or strut
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(intr) to caper, gambol, or dance about
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(intr)
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(of a horse) to move with high lively springing steps
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to ride a horse that moves in this way
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-
(tr) to cause to prance
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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prancesimple
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prancessimple
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have prancedperfect
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has prancedperfect
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am prancingprogressive
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are prancingprogressive
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is prancingprogressive
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have been prancingperfect progressive
-
has been prancingperfect progressive
Past
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prancedsimple
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had prancedperfect
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was prancingprogressive
-
were prancingprogressive
-
had been prancingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prance
1325–75; Middle English prauncen, praunsen (v.); akin to Danish (dial.) pransk spirited, said of a horse
Explanation
When you prance, you swagger around with exaggerated, proud movements. If you've seen many rock concerts, you've seen people prance around onstage. When people prance, they're showing off, strutting for the benefit of their audience. Horses prance too, with a gait that's also a little artificial, using high, springy steps. You might prance a little when you run up on stage to accept an award, and a show horse might be equally inclined to prance as it moves past the judges. The horse gait definition is the original meaning of prance, and it probably comes from the Middle English pranken, "to show off."
Vocabulary lists containing prance
Horsin' Around
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Charlotte's Web
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This Feb. 29: 15 Words for "Leap"
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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.
See Examples For:
Some people take this stuff way too seriously and kind of prance around the ring.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2024
That’s why they were in position to prance jubilantly off the field when Dunlap thwarted Garoppolo’s fourth-down, last-gasp effort to add to the litany of painful finishes for the Seahawks this season.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 5, 2021
If pandemic dating requires I prance an imaginary catwalk in the parking lot of McDonald’s, then I’m out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2021
David Singleton’s vibrant choreography makes the most of the sparse cast, particularly when the actors prance around a pool table to the toe-tapper “The River Won’t Flow.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 16, 2021
He smiles and says, “Yeah, except that Zach’s father used to get on me, too. He’d be like, ‘Oh, you’re going to prance around onstage.’
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Watch Weymouth’s perfect, tiny pointed-toe prances, adding soft punctuation to the beat.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2023
In The Unseen Queen, the BBC's beautiful documentary of family-filmed footage of the young princess, Lilibet prances and dances, pranks and laughs.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2022
Sometimes his comic instincts do pay off, as when Thor, Jane and friends crash a neo-Olympian, Vegas-ready paradise called Omnipotence City, where Crowe’s Zeus preens, prances and speaks in a hilariously awful Greek accent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2022
And sometimes Mitski’s charming prances around the stage in her flowy dress or pantomimed door-knocking in “Should’ve Been Me” warranted a snapshot.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 29, 2022
Spot turns and prances down the stairs.“Weatherman says a big storm is coming. Might be a hurricane. What I tell you?”
From "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Though Francesco is only a month into his journey as a traveling cast member, he pranced about the ring Wednesday with the confidence of a seasoned ringmaster.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
I could see his wild imagination at work and his interest in being an entertainer as he pranced around the house doing Elvis impersonations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025
Ramirez’s 4-year-old daughter - who pranced behind her mother, blowing bubbles and popping the ones that landed in her brown curls - has a lung condition.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2023
Following an opening DJ set by Questlove, Jagger pranced and prowled a stage much smaller than he’s used to, one that a roadie prepared for him by sprinkling powder on the floor.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
Janice pranced back to the car all smiles.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
He was prancing about and really getting into it.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
On May 14, almost exactly 43 years later, the track was No. 1 again, prancing to the top of Spotify’s global chart following the release of the biopic “Michael.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Yet the brand with the prancing horse logo took several years before deciding to throw its hat into the all-electric ring.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
He loves videos of himself crashing his bike into a trash can, frolicking on a beach, prancing around a field with a retro camcorder strapped to a sheep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
Nash and Oliver are prancing in circles around the living room table wearing gold marching band hats with blue feathers that nearly double their height.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
