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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

There were also limited editions such as the Charleston, the Dolly and a "007" version to coincide with the 1981 James Bond Movie "For Your Eyes Only" that featured a yellow 2CV.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

Breeze’s first flight out of Atlantic City, to Charleston, S.C., had been scheduled for a few days after Spirit shut down.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

Marc Bernstein, who frames and hangs fine art in Charleston, S.C., views it as a novelty for which he has no use.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

New York City was the site of the second-largest disparity last year; Jacksonville and Tampa, both in Florda, came in third and fourth, respectively; and Charleston, S.C., came in fifth.

From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026

I clamped the mouth of the jar against the wall, trapping it between Charleston and Georgetown.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Related Words

• disco
• samba
• tango
• waltz