ballerina
Americannoun
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a principal female dancer in a ballet company.
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any female ballet dancer.
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a woman's very low-heeled or heelless shoe or slipper, made to resemble a ballet slipper.
noun
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a female ballet dancer
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the principal female dancer of a ballet company
Etymology
Origin of ballerina
1785–95; < Italian, feminine of ballerino professional dancer, probably equivalent to baller ( ia ) dance ( ball ( are ) to dance (< Late Latin; see ball 2) + -eria < Old French; see -ery) + -ino -ine 1
Explanation
A girl or woman who dances professionally with a ballet is a ballerina. The lead dancer in "The Nutcracker" is a ballerina. It's more common to call a female dancer a "ballet dancer" than a ballerina these days. Historically, the term ballerina was saved for the very best female solo dancers in a ballet company, similar to the word diva in opera. In French, you call a female dancer a danseuse, and while the word ballerina means "dancing girl" in Italian, it's more accepted to use the word danzatrice in Italy.
Vocabulary lists containing ballerina
List 4
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Twirling in Tutus: Ballet Vocabulary
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 20–April 26, 2024
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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.
The show opened with Rosalía portraying a music box ballerina, her movements restricted, with dancers required to carry her across the stage.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
The story is completely absurd, filled with plot holes and characters as thin as a prima ballerina.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
Trailblazing ballerina Misty Copeland says Timothée Chalamet ‘wouldn’t be an actor and have the opportunities he has as a movie star if it weren’t for opera and ballet and their relevance.’
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026
Thousands of people waiting in a rainy Piazza del Duomo cheered as torchbearer Nicoletta Manni, an Italian ballerina, carried it into the square, over an hour behind schedule.
From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026
Now, this girl has a lot of God-given talents, but the grace of a ballerina is not one of ’em.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
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.
