pirouette
Americannoun
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a whirling about on one foot or on the points of the toes, as in ballet dancing.
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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
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
One had to perform a double leap and pirouette to avoid the leaders.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 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
He probably could have impaled Jason several times, but the giant insisted on doing a pirouette with every attack, which slowed him down.
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.
