ballerina

American  

[bal-uh-ree-nuh] / ˌbæl əˈri nə /

noun

ballerinas plural

1. a principal female dancer in a ballet company.

2. any female ballet dancer.

3. a woman's very low-heeled or heelless shoe or slipper, made to resemble a ballet slipper.

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ballerina British  

/ ˌbæləˈriːnə /

noun

1. a female ballet dancer

2. the principal female dancer of a ballet company

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ballerina Cultural  

1. In ballet, a female dancer. (See prima ballerina.)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ballerinas
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ballerina ballerinas

Today, Morishita is the world’s oldest ballerina still taking on demanding lead roles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

She was a ballerina, and that was what mattered most.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Monson de Kansky never became a world-famous ballerina.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

The nutritional deprivation she suffered caused her to lose the muscle tone she needed to pursue her dream of becoming a ballerina.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Sandi had Gisela, whose pretty ballerina name we all envied.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

That meant that his first prominent patients weren’t point guards or centers but New York’s premier ballerinas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026

Blessedly, these ballerinas didn’t learn their skills in prison or the foster system, and their tutus are not fodder for a satanic pyre.

From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026

But Giorgos Mavrogordatos, emeritus professor at the University of Athens criticised the evzone display as "extravagant figures resembling ballerinas for the pleasure of tourists".

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2025

At Westside Ballet’s adult showcase in August, I witnessed the sense of dignity these adult ballerinas carried with them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2024

The Osage have long been linked to the world of classical dance, having produced two of the greatest ballerinas, the sisters Maria and Marjorie Tallchief.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann