ballroom
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of ballroom
Explanation
A ballroom is a room that has enough space for many people to dance. Traditionally, a ballroom has either a hardwood or marble floor. Most private houses are built without ballrooms these days, but it was once common for a grand home or mansion to include a special room for throwing dance parties. These ballrooms were large, with high ceilings, and could accommodate a live band and many dancers. Ballroom dancing was originally a formal, social dance form that only happened in ballrooms. The word comes from ball, or party, with the Latin root ballare, "to dance."
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 report came out as the ballroom project has faced persistent hurdles in court and Congress.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
The ballroom project was initially expected to cost $200 million, a price that has since doubled.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
Tad Heuer, representing the National Trust for Historic Preservation, urged the court to halt the ballroom project.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
The U.S. fine-arts commissioner, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., in charge of Trump’s White House ballroom redevelopment, attended the conference in a personal capacity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
The ball took place in the fair’s Natatorium, a large building on the Midway devoted to swimming and bathing and equipped with a ballroom and banquet rooms.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
