pas de deux
Americannoun
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pas de deux
plural
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a dance by two persons.
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(in classical ballet) a set dance for a ballerina and a danseur noble, consisting typically of an entrée, an adagio, a variation for each dancer, and a coda.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pas de deux
1755–65; < French: literally, step for two
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.
The artistic pas de deux took a toll on Kusama’s mental health, sending her into periods of depression.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Sombert and Youskevitch rendezvous for a haunting, lamplit pas de deux.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
On this week’s Slate Plus exclusive, Timothée Chalamet enters the pas de deux between an Oscar-nominated actor and a public itching for a villain.
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2026
Vishneva remembered Shklyarov’s warm personality and honored her frequent pas de deux partner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2024
This isn’t the first time I’ve danced the act-two pas de deux from Swan Lake onstage as Odile, the dark and cunning daughter of the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart.
From "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina" by Michaela DePrince
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.
