cavort

[kuh-vawrt]

See more synonyms for cavort on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to prance or caper about.
to behave in a high-spirited, festive manner; make merry.

Origin of cavort

1785–95, Americanism; earlier cavault, perhaps cur(vet) + vault²

Related formsca·vort·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for cavort

gambol, romp, caper, play, rollick, dance, roughhouse, revel, frisk, sport, caracole, horseplay

Examples from the Web for cavort

Contemporary Examples of cavort

The complaint further alleges that Glock had a personal slush fund that he used to “cavort with women around the world.”
Glock Family Goes Down, Guns Blazing
Brandy Zadrozny
October 11, 2014
But watching him cavort with Johnny Damon brought something to mind.
Why Do We Forgive Manny Ramirez for Being Manny?
Allen Barra
June 11, 2014

Historical Examples of cavort

Without "cavort" or a "list to port," is as hard—as song to a Neddy!
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 105 December 23rd, 1893
Various
At that moment the animal began to cavort, and backed into a flower-bed.
Mrs. Craddock
W. Somerset Maugham
In the saddle they kin ride, and cavort around hours an hours.
The Saddle Boys at Circle Ranch
James Carson
They are in both male and female attire, and dance and cavort to the delight of the guests.
North Dakota
Various
I've always yearned to go back and cavort over the campus in the fall when college opened; but not for me no more!
At Good Old Siwash
George Fitch

British Dictionary definitions for cavort

cavort

verb

(intr) to prance; caper

Derived Formscavorter, noun

Word Origin for cavort

C19: perhaps from curvet

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 cavort

1793, cauvaut, American English, of uncertain origin, sometimes said to be an alteration of curvet "a leap by a horse," from French and related to curve (v.). Or perhaps from ca- colloquial intensive prefix + vault "to jump, leap." Modern form attested by 1829. Related: Cavorted; cavorting.