country-dance
noun
a dance of rural English origin in which the dancers form circles or squares or in which they face each other in two rows.
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country-dance
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country dance
country dancenouna type of folk dance in which couples are arranged in sets and perform a series of movements, esp facing one another in a line
country-dance
American
[kuhn-tree-dans, -dahns]
/ ˈkʌn triˌdæns, -ˌdɑns /
noun
country dance
British
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of country-dance
First recorded in 1570–80
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:
Courses are as varied as English country-dance, the presidency and genealogy on the computer.
From Time Magazine Archive
It's like the old country-dance of that name, where there are two gentlemen to one lady, and one has her, and the other hasn't, but comes limping up behind to make out the figure.
From The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
It was not quadrille dancing, nor minuet dancing, nor even country-dance dancing.
From The Battle of Life by Charles Dickens
About one hundred couple stood up in each country-dance, but the rooms are so large and so judiciously lighted, that we did not feel at all warm.
From Life in Mexico by Madame (Frances Erskine Inglis) Calderón de la Barca
I think Miss Fairfax dances very well; and Mrs. Weston is the very best country-dance player, without exception, in England.
From Emma by Jane Austen
The 16-year-old has enjoyed the country dance style since she was seven, following in the footsteps of her mum, grandmother and great-grandmother.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025
The shows so far have spanned the modern desert’s full range of scenes — country dance nights, the scuzzy punk of Throw Rag, cabaret drag acts and gothic folk from Blood Nebraska.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025
Live music shall fill the cozy Ballard tavern once more when Midnight Suns kick off the bar’s Tuesday country dance night.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 24, 2021
They were there to dance the forró, a rustic country dance from northeastern Brazil that has fired the romantic imaginations of Parisians young and old, at a weekly gathering devoted to the dance.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2010
At this country dance Johnny for the first time saw Rab move suddenly into action.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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