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

---

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

---

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

Etymology

Origin of prance

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

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."

Related Words

• gambol
• sashay
• strut
• swagger