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

Shoes belonging to the ballerina category are a go-to footwear style for Kravitz. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 24 Aug. 2026

Nine months after her mother’s death, her father married Ashley Byers, a former ballerina and swimsuit model 30 years his junior, after knowing her for less than two weeks. — Janelle Griffith, PEOPLE, 21 Aug. 2026

The professional ballerina had spent decades building a career around movement, performing with American Ballet Theatre and The Joffrey Ballet and touring internationally with Broadway’s An American in Paris. — Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 17 Aug. 2026

Picasso painted Femme dans un fauteuil during his honeymoon with his first wife, the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova, near Biarritz. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 Aug. 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

• ballerina flat
• ballerina shoe
• ballerina slipper
• 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