ballroom
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ballroom
Explanation
A ballroom is a room that has enough space for many people to dance. Traditionally, a ballroom has either a hardwood or marble floor. Most private houses are built without ballrooms these days, but it was once common for a grand home or mansion to include a special room for throwing dance parties. These ballrooms were large, with high ceilings, and could accommodate a live band and many dancers. Ballroom dancing was originally a formal, social dance form that only happened in ballrooms. The word comes from ball, or party, with the Latin root ballare, "to dance."
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:
One of the night’s longest detours centered on Trump’s planned White House ballroom.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Trump also is continuing to race through the ballroom construction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
He was tackled by agents just short of a staircase which leads down to a ballroom where the dinner was getting underway.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Simultaneously, work is continuing on a much larger White House project -- Trump's addition of a massive ballroom.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
“Maybe they’re going to let it loose in the ballroom when Stavros announces the winner of the prize,” offered Rio.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
He told me that during his childhood, Eid prayers were sometimes held in hotel ballrooms because mosques were too few and too small.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
Demos, presentations and meetings will take place in a massive convention center as well as ballrooms and suites throughout the city.
From Barron's ● Jan. 3, 2026
I build the most beautiful ballrooms in the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
But who needs lighting, heat or their health when there are ballrooms to build?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025
They had bands from all across the country in the ballrooms and the Apollo and Lafayette theaters.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
