ballet
Syllables: bal·letUK/ˈbæleɪ//bæˈleɪ/
ballet noun: a classical form of dance.
Noun
ballet (countable and uncountable, plural ballets)
- A classical form of dance.
- a classically-trained ballet dancer
- A theatrical presentation of such dancing, usually with music, sometimes in the form of a story.
- Let's go to the ballet in the theatre tomorrow!
- The company of persons who perform this dance.
- Zara joined the ballet at the age of 14.
- A light part song, frequently with a fa-la-la chorus, common among Elizabethan and Italian Renaissance composers.
- A (small) ball i.e. roundel on a coat of arms, called a bezant, plate, etc., according to colour.
- 9. Peter West, Ar. bears sable Ballets argent a Lyon Rampant.1741, Richard Izacke, Remarkable Antiquities of the City of Exeter … by Richard Izacke … Second Edition
- Any intricate series of operations involving coordination between individuals.
- Food preparation on a potager no doubt became a kitchen ballet in which pans were constantly shifted, coals constantly replenished, and grates shaken out.1990, Historic Preservation: Quarterly of the National Council for Historic Sites and Buildings, volumes 42-43
- Henry Payton joined Alan on the sidelines during the conclusion of the oddly delicate ballet known as On-Scene Investigation.1991, Stephen King, Needful Things
Verb
ballet (third-person singular simple present ballets, present participle balleting, simple past and past participle balleted)
- To perform an action reminiscent of ballet dancing.
- Situations that typically require longer iliac limbs than the measurements suggest include extreme iliac tortuosity, “balleting” of the limbs (Endurant and Excluder) (Fig. 90-3), and the need to extend to the external iliac arteries. It these anatomic circumstances, it is prudent to choose a longer...2014 Rutherford's Vascular Surgery E-Book - Page 1340
- Unfortunately, he could only sustain so much abuse. Footfalls approached. Kanoa's lips smacked and his jaw hung open. His eyelids fluttered, their underlying gaze balleting without clarity. He felt beyond sick, and his world spun immensely. A garbled voice of incoherency seemed to be his only link...2016, Jacob Russell Dring, Endless the Chase
ballet meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
ballet in Hindi
- form of dance
- बैले baile
ballet in Tamil
- ஒரு வகை நடனம், கூட்டுநடனம், கூட்டுநடன இசை, கூட்டு நடனக்குழு
ballet in Urdu
- form of dance
- بَیلے baile
ballet in Bengali
- form of dance
- ব্যালে bêle
More languagesFewer languages
- ballet in Kannada
- ಬ್ಯಾಲೆ, ರಷ್ಯಾದೇಶದ ಒಂದು ನೃತ್ಯ
- ballet in Sinhala
- බැලේ, බැලේ නර්තනයේ යෙදීම
- ballet in Arabic
- بَالِيه bālēh
- ballet in Malay
- balet
- ballet in Indonesian
- balet
- ballet in Thai
- บัลเลต์ ban-lêe
- ballet in Vietnamese
- ba lê, vở ba lê
- ballet in Myanmar
- ဘဲလေး bhai:le:
Examples of ballet in a sentence
- His eyelids fluttered, their underlying gaze balleting without clarity.2016, Jacob Russell Dring, Endless the Chase:
- Frankie's obviously going to ballet her way to the trophy.2017, Num Nums, “A Total Bust a Move”, in The ZhuZhus:
Forms of ballet
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | ballets |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | ballets |
| present participle | balleting |
| past participle | balleted |
| past | balleted |
Origin of ballet
Borrowed from French ballet, from Italian balletto (“short dance, ballet”), diminutive form of ballo (“group dance”) (cognate with Old French bal, whence English ball), from Late Latin ballō (“to dance”).
Words formed from ballet
- antiballet
- ballet boot
- balletcore
- ballet d'action
- ballet dad
- ballet dancer
- ballet flat
- ballet flats
- balletgoer
- balletgoing
- balletic
- balletlike
- ballet master
- balletmaster
- ballet mistress
- ballet mom
- ballet mum
- ballet music
- balletomane
- balletomania
- ballet on horseback
- ballet shoe
- ballet skiing
- ballet slipper
- ballet troupe
- balletwear
- fairy ballet
- nonballet
- preballet
- ski ballet
- water ballet
Phrases with ballet
Words that rhyme with ballet
Questions about ballet
- What does ballet mean?
- Ballet means a classical form of dance.
- What is ballet in Hindi?
- Ballet in Hindi is बैले (baile). See Ballet meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use ballet in a sentence?
- His eyelids fluttered, their underlying gaze balleting without clarity.
- What part of speech is ballet?
- Ballet can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce ballet?
- Ballet is pronounced /ˈbæleɪ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of ballet?
- The plural of ballet is ballets.
Words near ballet in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ballet (page history and authors); ballet (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ballet (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ballet (Sinhala Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-ballet.flac.
Cite this entry: “ballet.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ballet. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.