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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The "Nerd Prom" as attendees dub it brings together hundreds of Washington journalists and media executives to raise funds for scholarships and awards.
From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026
Saphiera Stillwell, 17, wears a prom dress, with a sticker price of $1,300, at the Positive Results Center 10th annual Prom Dress & Tux Gift-Away and Resource Fair at the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026
As with the wildly successful Northern Soul Prom in 2023, this year's exploration of prog rock will be curated by BBC 6 Music DJ and former NME writer, Stuart Maconie.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
I went to the Grade 11 Junior Prom with a shy, geeky boy who played the cello.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025
“Guess I can’t even get Pathetic Prom right; that’s how pathetic I am,” Dill said breezily.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
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.
