break dancing

American  

Or breakdancing

noun

1. a style of acrobatic dancing originating in the mid-1970s, often performed to rap music usually by teenage males in the streets, and characterized by intricate footwork, pantomime, spinning headstands, tumbling, and elaborate improvised virtuosic movements.

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Other Word Forms

• break dancer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of break dancing

The sense of break is unclear; cf. breakdown ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

break dancing

He makes clear that the eventual titans of streetwear were scrappy entrepreneurs who merged graffiti, break dancing, hip-hop, punk rock and skateboarding, all gestures of rebellion they cleverly merchandised.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

Jokes were made about who else it might be, such as Raygun, the Australian break dancer from the Olympics who was not particularly good at break dancing.

From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2024

Paris will be its own extraordinary attraction, transformed into a giant outdoor arena with competitions like break dancing at Place de la Concorde and beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2024

Among those were the men’s and women’s water polo teams; B-girl “Sunny” Choi, who will compete in the first Olympic break dancing tournament; and boxer Joshua Edwards.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 5, 2023

John Tookey showed off this new New York craze called break dancing but went spinning out of control into a group of girls, who toppled like skittles.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell