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• Charleston
  Charleston

  noun

  a vigorous, rhythmic ballroom dance popular in the 1920s.
• charleston
  charleston

  noun

  a fast rhythmic dance of the 1920s, characterized by kicking and by twisting of the legs from the knee down

Charleston

¹ American  

[chahrlz-tuhn, chahrl-stuhn] / ˈtʃɑrlz tən, ˈtʃɑrl stən /

noun

1. a vigorous, rhythmic ballroom dance popular in the 1920s.

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verb (used without object)

1. to dance the Charleston.

Charleston ² American  

[chahrlz-tuhn, chahrl-stuhn] / ˈtʃɑrlz tən, ˈtʃɑrl stən /

noun

1. a seaport in SE South Carolina.

2. a city in and the capital of West Virginia, in the W part.

3. a city in E central Illinois.

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Charleston ¹ British  

/ ˈtʃɑːlstən /

noun

1. a city in central West Virginia: the state capital. Pop: 51 394 (2003 est)

2. a port in SE South Carolina, on the Atlantic: scene of the first action in the Civil War. Pop: 101 024 (2003 est)

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charleston ² British  

/ ˈtʃɑːlstən /

noun

1. a fast rhythmic dance of the 1920s, characterized by kicking and by twisting of the legs from the knee down

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Charleston ¹ Cultural  

1. Two cities in the South: one a port city in southeastern South Carolina, the other the capital of West Virginia.

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Charleston ² Cultural  

1. A fast-paced dance, with elaborate arm movements, that became a craze in the United States during the 1920s.

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Etymology

Origin of Charleston

Named after Charleston, South Carolina

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Charleston charleston

Brooks Reitz also doesn’t serve brunch at his restaurants, which include the Bell in New Orleans and Leon’s Oyster Shop, Little Jack’s Tavern and Melfi’s, in Charleston, S.C.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

A different voter, Bennett Bracell of Charleston, had skipped a day of high school to drive up two hours for the rally.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

Graham was meeting and greeting voters on a steamy Sunday afternoon at a waterfront venue in suburban Charleston.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

No matter if it’s a Black church in Las Vegas or a Latino neighborhood in North Charleston.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

“That’s very suave, very cool,” Ben said, watching the moon light up the black waters of the Edisto River as they traveled toward Charleston going seventy-five.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Opera singer Wynne Evans has become the eighth star to leave this year's Strictly Come Dancing after his charleston left judges cold.

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2024

The pair were due to perform the charleston to Rain On The Roof from the film Paddington 2.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2024

In 2013, she dazzled on Strictly Come Dancing, wowing the judges with, among other performances, a memorably bouncy whirl through the charleston.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 21, 2020

Music comes from the Ceilidh Liberation Front and you can even learn to jive or charleston, if you so wish.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 15, 2013

RUNNER-UP charleston, south carolina Anglers will find prime action with whites around this southern hot spot.

From Time Magazine Archive

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