acrobat

American  

[ak-ruh-bat] / ˈæk rəˌbæt /

noun

1. a skilled performer of gymnastic feats, as walking on a tightrope or swinging on a trapeze.

2. a person who readily changes viewpoints or opinions.

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acrobat British  

/ ˈækrəˌbæt /

noun

1. an entertainer who performs acts that require skill, agility, and coordination, such as tumbling, swinging from a trapeze, or walking a tightrope

2. a person noted for his frequent and rapid changes of position or allegiances

   a political acrobat

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Other Word Forms

• acrobatic adjective
• acrobatically adverb

Etymology

Origin of acrobat

First recorded in 1815–25; from French acrobate, from Greek akróbatos “walking on tiptoe,” equivalent to akro- prefix meaning “height, extremity” + -batos, verbal adjective of baínein “to go”; the French word may be a recoinage, or an etymological reading of the Greek word; acro-

Example Sentences

I remember it was a kind of collage, full of cutout pictures of circus life, with clowns and acrobats and jugglers and horses, and elephants, of course, lots of elephants.

From Literature

“He did every sort of job, like how to site the tent so it would have the maximum visual impact. He knew how to water the elephants, he studied the acrobats.”

From Los Angeles Times

As Fever guard Sydney Colson live-streamed the players’ locker room celebration, Clark leaned in front of the camera and wished the injured acrobat well.

From Los Angeles Times

That word came up many times during the show’s first audition rounds as dancers, singers, magicians, acrobats and a contortionist took the stage.

From Salon

The balls, used instead of wheels, on his omnidirectional battery-powered bike are the same type as used by circus acrobats and are self-balancing.

From BBC

Related Words

• clown
• dancer
• gymnast
• performer
• tumbler