troupe
Americannoun
-
troupes
plural
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See troop.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing troupe
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Theater - Introductory
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The Bad Beginning
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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:
Lennon, a founding member of comedy troupe the State and creator of the cult comedy series “Reno 911!,” is a secret weapon, a cruise missile of targeted timing and hilarious asides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Rosalía’s backing troupe wear black, so they disappear in the stage lighting—all except for their arms, popping out of the gloom in long white gloves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The troupe operated from 1958 through 1965, making it the first extended prison theater program in the U.S. launched by prisoners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
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
In the early days with the troupe, I’d learned how to size up a town.
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
Behind him, the production took care of everything else: the energetic dance troupes, sophisticated light and sound backdrops and a full-fledged backing orchestra.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2025
Announced opening acts for the tour include L.A.-based pop rock band Wallows, emo staples Death Cab for Cutie and Evanescence as well as modern troupes 100 gecs and IDLES.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2024
Even the most dedicated troupes have an occasional lackluster performance, especially when they know they can get away with it.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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
Raul trouped as a child actor through Central and South America, picked up dance steps as he went along, eventually drifted to Havana where he met Eva at a party.
From Time Magazine Archive
Health made its appearance and at its heels trouped success and happiness; and to balance them came gratitude, humility, and service.
From Ted and the Telephone by William F. (William Frederick) Stecher
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
But there is much less entertainment these days in a France where only trained polar bears would find trouping comfortable.
From Time Magazine Archive
As the years went by, and Wagnerian opera became the Met's specialty, sturdy Lauritz Melchior rolled up a world's record for Wagnerian trouping.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Say, listen here, Old-timer, remember I been trouping man and boy for over forty year and it's hard to fool me—you working?"
From Merton of the Movies by Harry Leon Wilson
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