dance

[[t]dɑ͟ːns, dæ̱ns[/t]]

♦♦

dances, dancing, danced

1) VERB When you dance, you move your body and feet in a way which follows a rhythm, usually in time to music.

Polly had never learned to dance...

[V to n] I like to dance to the music on the radio.

2) N-COUNT A dance is a particular series of graceful movements of your body and feet, which you usually do in time to music.

Sometimes the people doing this dance hold brightly colored scarves...

She describes the tango as a very sexy dance.

3) V-RECIP When you dance with someone, the two of you take part in a dance together, as partners. You can also say that two people dance.

[V with n] It's a terrible thing when nobody wants to dance with you...

[pl-n V] Shall we dance?...

[V (non-recip)] He asked her to dance.

N-COUNT

Dance is also a noun.

Come and have a dance with me.

4) N-COUNT A dance is a social event where people dance with each other.

She often went to parties and dances at Littlecote...

At the school dance he sat and talked to her all evening.

5) N-UNCOUNT Dance is the activity of performing dances, as a public entertainment or an art form.

Their contribution to international dance, drama and music is inestimable...

No show prior to `On The Town' had told so much of its story through dance...

She no longer has the time or energy for her dance classes.

6) VERB If you dance a particular kind of dance, you do it or perform it.

[V n] Then we put the music on, and we all danced the Charleston...

[V n] They will dance two performances of Ashton's `Romeo and Juliet'.

7) VERB If you dance somewhere, you move there lightly and quickly, usually because you are happy or excited. [LITERARY]

[V adv/prep] He danced off down the road...

[V adv/prep] Amy went and kissed him, and then danced out of his reach.

8) VERB If you say that something dances, you mean that it moves about, or seems to move about, lightly and quickly. [LITERARY]

[V adv/prep] Patterns of light, reflected by the river, dance along the base of the cliffs...

[V adv/prep] She tried to read it more slowly and carefully, but the words danced and dissolved before her eyes.

9) PHRASE: V inflects If someone leads you a merry dance, they make you do things over a long period of time which cause you problems and do not benefit you in any way. [BRIT, OLD-FASHIONED]

10) to dance to someone's tune → see tune

to make a song and dance about → see song and dance