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

The ballerinas and Rodrigo then took to the New York City streets, hitting their marks while dancing in intersections around the Upper West Side. —Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 13 June 2026

The clip follows a hoodie-sporting, head-over-heels Rodrigo wandering around New York City with a posse of ballerinas in tow. —Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 12 June 2026

Kazuha, 22, was a professional ballerina and had been studying at the Dutch National Ballet Academy when she was scouted by the entertainment company. —Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2026

And Jaiani, relatively tall for a ballerina, is more used to the high-altitude conditions dancing with 6-foot-4 Dylan Gutierrez (who on Thursday dances as the lovely guy Tatiana pragmatically marries) and, prior to that, Fabrice Calmels — who is even taller than Gutierrez. —Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026

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