waltz
[wawlts]
- a ballroom dance, in moderately fast triple meter, in which the dancers revolve in perpetual circles, taking one step to each beat.
- a piece of music for, or in the rhythm of, this dance.
- Informal. an easy victory or accomplishment: The game was a waltz—we won by four touchdowns. The math exam was a waltz.
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- of, relating to, or characteristic of the waltz, as music, rhythm, or dance: waltz tempo.
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- to dance or move in a waltz step or rhythm: an invitation to waltz.
- Informal.
- to move breezily or casually: to waltz in late for dinner.
- to progress easily or successfully (often followed by through): to waltz through an exam.
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- to lead (a partner) in dancing a waltz.
- Informal. to move or lead briskly and easily: He waltzed us right into the governor's office.
- to fill (a period of time) with waltzing (often followed by away, through, etc.): They waltzed the night away.
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Origin of waltz
1775–85; back formation from German Walzer a waltz (taken as walz + -er1), derivative of walzen to roll, dance; compare obsolete English walt unsteady, dial. walter to roll
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for waltz
Contemporary Examples
I think people think that I would just wake up in the morning and do Bollywood or the waltz, things I had never done before.
Take, for example, the simple chuckle of seeing Christoph Waltz do the waltz, a seconds-long, perfect cameo.
Paul Wolfowitz lied airily about what a waltz it would all be.
Waltz eventually replaced DiCaprio in the role and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Waltz and the other actors mentioned declined comment via their reps.
Historical Examples
She knew how to waltz and she could dance the polka and the schottishe.
Changing WindsSt. John G. Ervine
He was wondering why the interest in the Gaelic language was not so strong as the interest in the waltz.
Changing WindsSt. John G. Ervine
The trees of the forest seemed to waltz around me in mazy circles.
Jack De Baron would be there, and would want to know why she would not waltz.
Is He Popenjoy?Anthony Trollope
You don't mean to say she ought to waltz, or dance stage dances?
Is He Popenjoy?Anthony Trollope
waltz
- a ballroom dance in triple time in which couples spin around as they progress round the room
- a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance
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- to dance or lead (someone) in or as in a waltzhe waltzed her off her feet
- (intr) to move in a sprightly and self-assured manner
- (intr) informal to succeed easily
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Word Origin
C18: from German Walzer, from Middle High German walzen to roll; compare welter
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for waltz
n.
dance performed to music in triple time, 1781, from German Waltzer, from walzen "to roll, dance," from Old High German walzan "to turn, roll," from Proto-Germanic *walt- (cf. Old Norse velta), from PIE root *wel- "to turn, revolve" (see volvox). Described in 1825 as "a riotous and indecent German dance."
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v.
1794, from waltz (n.). Meaning "to move nimbly" is recorded from 1862. Related: Waltzed; waltzing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper