short for promenade promenade concert
informal short for promenade
1890–95, short for promenade
p(rogrammable) r(ead)-o(nly) m(emory)
A prom is a formal dance at the end of a school year. For many American high schools, the senior prom is a big deal. Kids get dressed up and then get embarrassed by parents who take too many photos. Students going to a prom will sometimes rent limousines to get there, and dress in fancy gowns and tuxedos. The prom itself is generally a much fancier version of a school dance, often held in a hotel or a gussied-up school gymnasium. The word dates from the late nineteenth century, an American English shortening of promenade, which means "to stroll," but also "to dance in couples with joined hands."
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Burrows also directed 15 episodes of “Friends,” including some of its best-loved, such as “The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break” and “The One with the Prom Video.”
From Salon • Jun. 20, 2026
Prom was a chance to close out his youth in style, his parents said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
Marie Klein, 18, from Crenshaw High School, smiles while wearing her new prom dress at the Positive Results Center 10th annual Prom Dress & Tux Gift-Away and Resource Fair.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026
The "Nerd Prom" as attendees affectionately call it brings together hundreds of Washington journalists and media executives to raise funds for scholarships and awards.
From Barron's • Apr. 25, 2026
Prom there we took the bus to a pet store and I had a huge grin on my face because I was right about my Christmas-comes-early feeling.
From "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key" by Jack Gantos
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.
