ballroom dancing

British

noun

social dancing, popular since the beginning of the 20th century, to dances in conventional rhythms ( ballroom dances ) such as the foxtrot and the quickstep

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

In “Anna Karenina,” for instance, Tolstoy immediately plunges into a melodrama of infidelity, marriage proposals and ballroom dancing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

I wanted to watch this drama in action, so immediately after dinner I went up to the lounge to observe the ballroom dancing.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2025

Her family described her as “a lively lady” who loved ballroom dancing and said she was a teacher at many venues around Wales, still attending afternoon dances in recent years.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2024

Lin, who testified at an earlier hearing on the Dodd bill, told me that after losing just about all of her retirement fund, she took up ballroom dancing to get her mind off her troubles.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2024

I not only learned about physics at Fort Hare, but another precise physical science: ballroom dancing.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023