fandango
Americannoun
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a lively Spanish or Spanish American dance in triple time, performed by a man and woman playing castanets.
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a piece of music for such a dance or one having its rhythm.
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(especially in the southwest U.S.) a ball or dance.
noun
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an old Spanish courtship dance in triple time between a couple who dance closely and provocatively
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a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fandango
First recorded in 1765–70; < Spanish, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Portuguese fadango (unattested), from fado fado ( def. )
Explanation
Long before it was a website for buying movie tickets, fandango was (and still is) a seductive Spanish dance for two. You'll want to grab your castanets before you hit the dance floor, because those are required for authenticity as you dance the fandango. A fandango involves a lot of twirling and you'd better be quick, because this triple-time dance is not for dancing novices. Also, it helps to pick someone you're dating or have a crush on, because this is a dance for lovers.
Vocabulary lists containing fandango
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:
Haldane branded the months of speculation about potential Budget measures a "fiscal fandango".
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025
With its Baroque-flavored organ solo and mysterious opening line - "We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor" — the song became one of the signature tunes of the 1967 "Summer of Love."
From Fox News ● Feb. 23, 2022
With its Baroque-flavored organ solo and mysterious opening line – “We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor” — the song became one of the signature tunes of the 1967 “Summer of Love.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2022
There were romances and the early, original forms of all those Spanish dances that went on to pervade Europe and the world at large, such as the fandango and seguidilla.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2020
Never did I think so meanly of a fandango as at that moment; never was I in a mood less lenient to female coquetry!
From Confessions Of Con Cregan An Irish Gil Blas by Lever, Charles James
Sir Brian May and Roger Taylor joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Chorus to bring their scaramouches and fandangos to the Royal Albert Hall, as the song celebrated its 50th anniversary.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2025
This time, the fight choreography is even more staggeringly accomplished: ridiculously sleek fandangos of destruction.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2019
Falla's score is a gem, and the orchestra zipped through its fandangos, seguidillas and final jota in solid but sparkling style.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 26, 2013
And Procol Harum: love ya, but your ruminations on light fandangos, ill-fitting homburgs and repenting Walpurgis will have to wait a bit longer for accolades.
From Time ● Oct. 10, 2012
This music is learned entirely by ear, and is transmitted from one generation to another through the means of these fandangos.
From The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself by Peters, de Witt C.
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.
