ballerina

noun

bal·​le·​ri·​na ˌba-lə-ˈrē-nə 

: a woman who is a ballet dancer : danseuse

Examples of ballerina in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lauro was once a ballerina, cheerleader and horseback rider, but had to stop as her muscles continued to weaken. —Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Watch My Old Ass on Prime Video Abigail Don't let her sweet face fool you; this ballerina has centuries of blood on her hands. —Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025

Ariana Gonzalez, a principal ballerina and City Ballet’s assistant artistic director, remembers when Breschi arrived, just before his 21st birthday. —Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025

Étoile, the Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino vehicle canceled after one season on Amazon Prime, is awash in elegant shots of ballerina pirouettes and the opulent interior of the Opéra Garnier in Paris — which served as the inspiration for the novel The Phantom of the Opera. —Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Italian, "woman who dances professionally or for pleasure," feminine counterpart of ballarino, ballerino "professional dancer, person who loves to dance," from ballare "to dance" (going back to Late Latin ballāre) + -ar-, -er-, extension in nominal derivation + -ino, suffix of occupations (as in postino "mailman," scalpellino "stonemason"), going back to Latin -īnus -ine entry 1 — more at ball entry 3

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing ballerina

• prima ballerina

Rhymes for ballerina

• acarina
• casuarina
• celestina
• concertina
• filipina
• foramina
• leucaena
• littorina
• scarlatina
• semolina
• serotina
• signorina

Kids Definition

ballerina

noun

bal·​le·​ri·​na ˌbal-ə-ˈrē-nə 

: a female ballet dancer