cavort
Americanverb (used without object)
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cavorts,
present (3rd person singular)
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cavorted,
past participle, past
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cavorting
present participle
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to prance or caper about.
-
to behave in a high-spirited, festive manner; have a lively good time; revel.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cavortsimple
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cavortssimple
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have cavortedperfect
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has cavortedperfect
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am cavortingprogressive
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are cavortingprogressive
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is cavortingprogressive
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have been cavortingperfect progressive
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has been cavortingperfect progressive
Past
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cavortedsimple
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had cavortedperfect
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was cavortingprogressive
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were cavortingprogressive
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had been cavortingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cavort
An Americanism dating back to 1785–95; earlier cavault, perhaps cur(vet) ( def. ) + vault 2 ( def. )
Explanation
How to cavort, in one easy step: dance around all crazy, jumping on and over anything nearby like you just ate a lot of sugar. Give it a try! Cavorting requires a good mood, lots of energy, and some running room. Children love to cavort, and so do parents when they win the lottery. The origins of the word are unclear, perhaps coming from the word curvet, meaning “leap gracefully or energetically,” and leaping is a great addition to any cavorting. There are lots of synonyms, so if you ever get tired of cavorting, you could always prance, frolic, lark, rollick, romp, or carouse. The choice is yours.
Vocabulary lists containing cavort
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury
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"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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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.
See Examples For:
The very first Christmas single is definitely scripted, but there’s still ample room for the four Beatles to cavort.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2025
Barbie dolls cavort in the office and trendy persons fill the motel’s Barbara bar.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
Throughout "And Just Like That" LTW has been presented as a modelesque queen who occasionally descends from her luxury digs to cavort with Charlotte.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2023
Chekhov’s characters cavort in dachas, while Beckett’s take up residence in trash cans — but they all feel the stifling dread and purposelessness of existence.
From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2022
“The producers would bring in a cat or an anteater or an otter and show it and let it cavort around,” Palmer says.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
The musical cavorts atop your screen as a short course in digital ingenuity and a hectic sprint through a major government screw-up — less deep state than dope state.
From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2020
He cavorts on an Athens rooftop with Greek artist Eleni Mylonas, who is wearing a military-style jacket and a headpiece adorned with a tiny Statue of Liberty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2020
Margaret cavorts with President Lyndon B. Johnson to win a big loan from the Yanks.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 26, 2019
Chad Kelderman is deliciously ridiculous as Olivia’s pompous major-domo Malvolio, and Eric Ray Anderson gleefully cavorts as the sly party dog Sir Toby Belch.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 17, 2019
Hey, you cow-wrastlers!" said a not unpleasant voice, and they turned suspiciously as it continued: "You've shore got to hang up them guns with the hotel clerk while you cavorts around on this range.
From Bar-20 Days by Mulford, Clarence Edward
Raw when he needed storm or battle; extra excited when Valkyries cavorted with horses; effusive when emotion took over senses; tender when morality mattered.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Heidegger’s noble guests cavorted as milkmaids, chimney sweeps, gypsies, “Indian kings” and even a “nude” Adam wearing a body stocking and fig leaves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
On “the beach”—an open stretch of snow between the parking lot and the lifts—skiers cavorted over pony kegs and hibachi grills.
From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2023
He was born in Saint Denis, in the shadow of the national stadium, four months after another France team had cavorted around the pitch, soaking up the champagne and adulation.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2022
The maroon goblin cavorted around the room in a feral tantrum, tearing down bookshelves, upsetting toy chests, and snapping the horn off the rocking horse.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
But Mr. Lithgow’s performance is infused with a sneaky playfulness evoking the “broken boy,” as Jessie puts it, still cavorting in the hulk of an elderly man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
The challenge for Democrats is that the district doesn’t just resemble Behn’s Nashville-based turf that features hipsters rolling their eyes at bachelorette parties cavorting on pedal bars.
From Slate ● Dec. 2, 2025
The official trailer for the sequel shows the chirpy red-capped Italian plumber cavorting with his friends and nemeses in a colourful intergalactic universe.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
At the age of 80, he's still cavorting around the world, playing sold out shows, recording new music and even writing a book about his beloved model train set.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2025
Small tears in skirts are stitched over with embroidery in the shape of leaves and pomegranates and—on one—a cavorting fox.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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.
