prance
Americanverb (used without object)
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prances,
present (3rd person singular)
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pranced,
past participle, past
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prancing
present participle
-
to spring from the hind legs; to move by springing, as a horse.
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to ride on a horse doing this.
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to ride gaily, proudly, or insolently.
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to move or go in an elated manner; cavort.
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to dance or move in a lively or spirited manner; caper.
verb (used with object)
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prances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pranced,
past participle, past
-
prancing
present participle
noun
verb
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(intr) to swagger or strut
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(intr) to caper, gambol, or dance about
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(intr)
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(of a horse) to move with high lively springing steps
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to ride a horse that moves in this way
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-
(tr) to cause to prance
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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prancesimple
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prancessimple
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have prancedperfect
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has prancedperfect
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am prancingprogressive
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are prancingprogressive
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is prancingprogressive
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have been prancingperfect progressive
-
has been prancingperfect progressive
Past
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prancedsimple
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had prancedperfect
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was prancingprogressive
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were prancingprogressive
-
had been prancingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing prance
Horsin' Around
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Charlotte's Web
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This Feb. 29: 15 Words for "Leap"
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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:
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
Some people take this stuff way too seriously and kind of prance around the ring.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2024
Somewhere between Jacob Riis and Charlie Chaplin, Murillo offers a knowing but escapist prance through need.
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2023
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
At times he’d be overcome by sudden ecstasy and prance about on high rocks, or skip along the limbs of trees, shouting meaningless syllables.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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
Scruffy, a checkered blue bow bobbing in his fur, prances up to the Four Paws Spa's arched grand entryway, where the Japanese prime minister's cat is secretly being held hostage by the evil Dr. Loofah.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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
As a crowd of spectators cheered, some of the sheep pranced.
From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2024
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
After another bucket dropped during a 25-point performance in the McDonald’s All-American girls’ game in Houston, the generational Sierra Canyon senior threw a pair of three-finger signs up and pranced around the court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
His spirited horse pranced nervously and tossed its head from side to side.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
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 located in the city's historic 19th-Century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II arcade.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Yet the brand with the prancing horse logo took several years before deciding to throw its hat into the all-electric ring.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
Suddenly, the rock god who only three years prior hit his commercial apex with “Let’s Dance,” a master of artistic shapeshifting who pioneered music videos long before MTV existed, was prancing around with Muppets.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
"Are you telling me those prancing cravens will let me winl" "For a certainty," Ned said, and Ser Barristan Selmy bowed his head in silent accord.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
