troupe

American  

[troop] / trup /

noun

• troupes
  plural

1. a company, band, or group of singers, actors, or other performers, especially one that travels about.

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verb (used without object)

trouped, trouping

1. to travel as a member of a theatrical company; barnstorm.

troupe British  

/ truːp /

noun

1. a company of actors or other performers, esp one that travels

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verb

1. (intr) (esp of actors) to move or travel in a group

Synonym Usage

See troop.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• troupes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of troupe

1815–25, < French: troop

Explanation

You can call a group of performers a troupe. The kids you dance with are your dance troupe, and the jugglers and clowns at your friend's party might be a circus troupe. If you love performing improvisational comedy, you may want to join a local improv troupe, and if you like the idea of caroling at Christmas time, you can form a troupe of singers to sing carols with in December. Troupe is a French word meaning "company of performers," which earlier meant "company of soldiers." It shares a root with troop.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

troupe troupes trouped trouping

Xi and his wife were greeted on the tarmac by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the first lady, as well as a performance by an Egyptian folk dance troupe.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Oddie was born in Rochdale, near Manchester, and grew up in Birmingham before attending Cambridge University, where he was a member of the illustrious Footlights comedy troupe.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

“Practice,” which had its premiere at Playwrights Horizons, is a more epic work that closely tracks the perverse power dynamics of an avant-garde theater troupe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Chip falls in with a troupe of street performers, evades the police, juggles along the Seine and eventually wanders into a smoky bar, where Penelope is strumming her guitar.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

“He left my troupe three years ago. I haven’t seen him since.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Now a smorgasbord of other groups from book clubs to dance troupes to golf gatherings are landing similar deals, turning the humble hobby into a new frontier for advertising.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

Until Friday, Amdjarass hosts dance troupes, musicians, traditional storytellers, craftspeople, cooks and nomadic camel drivers from across the vast region.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

The chemistry between its cast members is a major part of the company’s success, many previously worked together in improv troupes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025

The hilltop temples echoed with chants, while dance troupes performed with clanging cymbals and bagpipes.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2025

I stayed two days close to the bodies of the giants, and there were no trippers, no chattering troupes with cameras.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

So she did what came naturally to her: She trouped.

From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2016

We trouped down the stairs into a long, narrow, cavelike space burrowing into the hill, taken up almost entirely by a gleaming wood bar.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 8, 2015

Outfitted in caps and gowns, the singer Nellie McKay and her musicians trouped onto the stage of Feinstein’s at Loews Regency on Tuesday evening with mischievous smirks on their faces.

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2012

Less than 24 hours later, into Victor's recording studio on Manhattan's East Twenty-Fourth Street trouped 16 musicians, followed by Bandleader Vaughn Monroe, in polo coat, grey flannel suit, sunburst tie.

From Time Magazine Archive

And then they all trouped to the large table in this huge dining-hall.

From His Hour by Elinor Glyn

Not long now: The teams are out on the pitch, Sheffield United trouping out first, closely followed by Liverpool.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 24, 2020

That appeal has sent “Hamilton” trouping across the United States.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2017

Lightly amusing narrative of trouping with marionettes, by one of the founders of the group which later be came known as the Yale Puppeteers.

From Time Magazine Archive

The illness, which sent Olivier to a London hospital last year, will not keep him from trouping before the cameras.

From Time Magazine Archive

Say, boy, I was trouping while you played with marbles.

From Merton of the Movies by Harry Leon Wilson

Related Words

• association
• band
• cast
• crew
• ensemble
• gang