bolero

[ buh-lair-oh, boh- ]

/ bəˈlɛər oʊ, boʊ- /

noun, plural bo·le·ros.

a lively Spanish dance in triple meter.

the music for this dance.

a jacket ending above or at the waistline, with or without collar, lapel, and sleeves, worn open in front.

Nearby words

Origin of bolero

Borrowed into English from Spanish around 1780–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bolero

Pieces thus far include pink and ivory tulle dresses with a bolero and Swarovski crystals, sold at $1200 each.
Heidi Klum's Costume is One for the Ages; Jean Paul Gaultier Launches Children's Couture Line|The Fashion Beast Team|November 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The costumes will take the stage when Bolero bows at the Palais Garnier on May 2.
Karl Lagerfeld and Keira Knightley’s New Film; Tilda Swinton May Dress as David Bowie|The Fashion Beast Team|March 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
There's a bolero I designed this season that looks like it's made of leaves.
The Rise and Rise of L'Wren Scott|Merle Ginsberg|March 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
All this as the etiquette of the bolero inexorably demanded.
Strange True Stories of Louisiana|George Washington Cable

Ida pushed her bolero jacket from her shoulders, saying, "This seems nice and quiet enough."
Vandover and the Brute|Frank Norris
He seems born to dance the Bolero, like Belinda, in Mrs. Edwards's novel.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
He had found a tuft of red beard twisted in the fastening of the bolero.
Mlle. Fouchette|Charles Theodore Murray
It was like General Bolero to have unsightly power poles at the back of his estate.
A Yankee Flier in Italy|Rutherford G. Montgomery

British Dictionary definitions for bolero

bolero

/ (bəˈlɛərəʊ) /

noun plural -ros

a Spanish dance, often accompanied by the guitar and castanets, usually in triple time

a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance

(also ˈbɒlərəʊ) a kind of short jacket not reaching the waist, with or without sleeves and open at the front: worn by men in Spain and by women elsewhere

Word Origin for bolero

C18: from Spanish; perhaps related to bola ball

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

Word Origin and History for bolero

bolero

kind of Spanish dance, 1787, from Spanish, probably from bola "ball" (and perhaps with reference to "whirling motion"), from Latin bulla (see bull (n.2)). In reference to a type of short jacket, it is recorded by 1864.