ballroom
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
About 500 people watched the action on big screens at a fan zone at Aberdeen's Beach Ballroom.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
To hear her booming vocals on a recent Wednesday, you had to make your way to the Sunset Vista Ballroom at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
We’ll see if she can introduce it before Florida Rep. Randy Fine, who plans to file the “Build the Ballroom Act.”
From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026
"This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House," Trump wrote.
From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026
As soon as I was out of the Ballroom, I took off like a flash.
From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl
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.
