pirouette
Americannoun
-
a whirling about on one foot or on the points of the toes, as in ballet dancing.
-
Dressage. a complete turn in which the horse uses its hind legs as a pivot.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of pirouette
1700–10; < French: a whirl, top, feminine of Middle French pirouet, equivalent to pirou- (cognate with Italian pirolo, diminutive of piro peg) + -et -et
Explanation
A dancer's spin, especially when he's balanced on one foot, is a pirouette. A pirouette is a ballet term meaning to whirl or spin while balanced on the toes. In the case of a ballerina, she would pirouette while "en pointe," poised on the very toe of her shoe with the other leg bent. You can also use the word to describe a more casual spin, like an exuberant little boy who pirouettes through the halls of his school. In Old French, the root word pirouet meant "spinning top."
Vocabulary lists containing pirouette
Power Suffix: -ette
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Curtain Call: Dance and Theater Terms
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The Phantom Tollbooth
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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.
In Hover mode, the joystick provides fine-grained yaw control, allowing the BlackFly to execute its surreal pirouette.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025
Like a dainty ballerina, the world's biggest iceberg has just completed a perfect pirouette.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2024
During so-called learning walks, the animals then explore the immediate surroundings around the nest entrance and repeatedly pirouette around their own body axis with short stops in between.
From Science Daily • Feb. 13, 2024
My pubescent nerves did a pirouette in my stomach as we hung up, retreating to the haven of instant messages.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2024
The poor guy didn’t even have a chance to pirouette.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
