prance

American  

[prans, prahns] / præns, prɑns /

verb (used without object)

• prances,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pranced,
  past participle,  past
• prancing
  present participle

1. to spring from the hind legs; to move by springing, as a horse.

2. to ride on a horse doing this.

3. to ride gaily, proudly, or insolently.

4. to move or go in an elated manner; cavort.

   Synonyms:

   frisk, frolic, romp, skip, leap, gambol

5. to dance or move in a lively or spirited manner; caper.

   Synonyms:

   frisk, frolic, romp, skip, leap, gambol

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verb (used with object)

• prances,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pranced,
  past participle,  past
• prancing
  present participle

1. to cause to prance.

noun

1. the act of prancing; a prancing movement.

prance British  

/ prɑːns /

verb

1. (intr) to swagger or strut

2. (intr) to caper, gambol, or dance about

3. (intr)

   1. (of a horse) to move with high lively springing steps

   2. to ride a horse that moves in this way

4. (tr) to cause to prance

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noun

1. the act or an instance of prancing

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prancer
  noun
• prancingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• prancing
  present
• pranced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• prance
  simple
• prances
  simple
• have pranced
  perfect
• has pranced
  perfect
• am prancing
  progressive
• are prancing
  progressive
• is prancing
  progressive
• have been prancing
  perfect progressive
• has been prancing
  perfect progressive

Past

• pranced
  simple
• had pranced
  perfect
• was prancing
  progressive
• were prancing
  progressive
• had been prancing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will prance
  simple
• will have pranced
  perfect
• will be prancing
  progressive
• will have been prancing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of prance

1325–75; Middle English prauncen, praunsen (v.); akin to Danish (dial.) pransk spirited, said of a horse

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Explanation

When you prance, you swagger around with exaggerated, proud movements. If you've seen many rock concerts, you've seen people prance around onstage. When people prance, they're showing off, strutting for the benefit of their audience. Horses prance too, with a gait that's also a little artificial, using high, springy steps. You might prance a little when you run up on stage to accept an award, and a show horse might be equally inclined to prance as it moves past the judges. The horse gait definition is the original meaning of prance, and it probably comes from the Middle English pranken, "to show off."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prance prances pranced prancing

The kids prance around the yard quoting “Macbeth” a decade before he’ll stage it and Mescal gets to recite a “Hamlet” soliloquy as a little treat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025

Somewhere between Jacob Riis and Charlie Chaplin, Murillo offers a knowing but escapist prance through need.

From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2023

All the better to be able to wiggle, shimmy and prance your way around it.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2022

That’s why they were in position to prance jubilantly off the field when Dunlap thwarted Garoppolo’s fourth-down, last-gasp effort to add to the litany of painful finishes for the Seahawks this season.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 5, 2021

Annie watched Guiteau prance back and forth in front of a mirror.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Behind him, a baby coyote prances into the fog.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Watch Weymouth’s perfect, tiny pointed-toe prances, adding soft punctuation to the beat.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2023

In The Unseen Queen, the BBC's beautiful documentary of family-filmed footage of the young princess, Lilibet prances and dances, pranks and laughs.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2022

And sometimes Mitski’s charming prances around the stage in her flowy dress or pantomimed door-knocking in “Should’ve Been Me” warranted a snapshot.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 29, 2022

Mrs. Walton winks at me and then prances to the back of the church and out the door.

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

I could see his wild imagination at work and his interest in being an entertainer as he pranced around the house doing Elvis impersonations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025

Like Carrie’s playful tiptoe stride through the streets in heels, the show pranced around topics that, had it walked through them with intention, would have given the series traces of its former self.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025

Ramirez’s 4-year-old daughter - who pranced behind her mother, blowing bubbles and popping the ones that landed in her brown curls - has a lung condition.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2023

Rewatching footage of her son bursting with youthful exuberance as he pranced on a soccer field, Fida Zalabani refuses to believe he tried to kill anyone.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 31, 2023

Standing on the porch, he raised his clasped hands over his head and pranced like a boxer going into the ring.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Hwang gathered along with 30 neighbours for a session in August, practising how to pay hospital bills at mock kiosks, patting a prancing robot dog, or asking their phones: "Gemini, tell me about tomorrow's weather."

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

I found myself more carefully applying makeup in my hotel room before prancing down to the hotel bar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Earlier in the evening, she performed a brief, bright rendition of “Man I Need,” prancing in time with her band for a crowd dense with stars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The beige and blue mosaic of a prancing bull surrounded by a coat of arms is meant to represent the city of Turin, which was the first capital of Italy.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

I ain’t no flunky to be prancing around the countryside just waiting to get bit.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

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Related Words

• gambol
• sashay
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• swagger

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