prancing

UK/ˈpɹæn.sɪŋ/

prancing is the present participle and gerund of prance.

Meaning of prance

prance (third-person singular simple present prances, present participle prancing, simple past and past participle pranced)

To spring forward on the hind legs.
(colloquial, figuratively) To strut about in a showy manner.
- John's daughter was prancing about the sitting room, practicing for her school dance.

prancing (comparative more prancing, superlative most prancing)

(dated, uncommon) That prances.
- when great Aunt Ryder was exhausted with carrying her little nephews pick-a-back, Aunt Ellen was always willing to become a 'gee-gee' or riding-horse in her place, although certainly one of no very prancing and fiery temperament.1860, James Payn, The Bateman household, page 301
- But what was the good of saying that to him when he was on his high horse — a very prancing steed?1920, Anthony Hope, Lucinda, page 273

prancing (plural prancings)

The act of one who prances.
- Then were the horse hoofs broken by the means of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones.1917, Bible (Jewish Publication Society of America Version), Judges 5:22

What does prancing mean?: Prancing means that prances.
What is prancing the present participle and gerund of?: Prancing is the present participle and gerund of prance.
What part of speech is prancing?: Prancing can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce prancing?: Prancing is pronounced /ˈpɹæn.sɪŋ/ (UK).

Adapted from Wiktionary: prancing (page history and authors); prance (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: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “prancing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/prancing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.