war dance

See more synonyms for war dance on Thesaurus.com

noun

a dance preliminary to going into battle or in celebration of a victory, as formerly among American Indians.

Origin of war dance

An Americanism dating back to 1705–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for war dance

banzai

Examples from the Web for war dance

Historical Examples of war dance

Probably then you will dance the war-dance of exasperation on its dismembered remains.
The Forest
Stewart Edward White
They danced upon the sea of fire as warriors dance the war-dance.
The Book of Nature Myths
Florence Holbrook
He hopped and leaped like a Winnebago chief in the war-dance.
Down The River
Oliver Optic
They supposed it a festival got up for their entertainment, as they would got up a war-dance to please their guests.
The Adventures of the Chevalier De La Salle and His Companions, in Their Explorations of the Prairies, Forests, Lakes, and Rivers, of the New World, and Their Interviews with the Savage Tribes, Two Hundred Years Ago
John S. C. Abbott
George had seen little of the red men and begged them to hold a war-dance.
Historic Boyhoods
Rupert Sargent Holland

British Dictionary definitions for war dance

war dance

noun

a ceremonial dance performed before going to battle or after victory, esp by certain North American Indian peoples
a dance representing warlike action

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012