ballet

noun

bal·let ˈba-ˌlā

ba-ˈlā

: a theatrical art form using dancing, music, and scenery to convey a story, theme, or atmosphere

: dancing in which conventional poses and steps are combined with light flowing figures (such as leaps and turns)

: music for a ballet

: a group that performs ballets

: something likened to a ballet especially in complexity and precision of movement

Where else can you peek into the kitchen and see a quiet ballet of cooks, their entire attention focused on feeding a mere 65 people?—

Ruth Reichl

Rather, it is people and the daily ballet of urban life that make a city.—

Steven Earnest et al.

balletic

ba-ˈle-tik

adjective

Example Sentences

She does tap dancing and ballet. We are going to a ballet tonight. This is one of my favorite ballets.

Recent Examples on the Web Wagner designed sets on Broadway, off-Broadway and for regional theater, for operas and ballets, and, in 1975, for the Rolling Stones’ Tour of the Americas. —

Richard Sandomir, BostonGlobe.com, 30 May 2023 More people know this version better than its literary source material, with the ballets based on Bizet’s tragedy securing second place. —

David Fear, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2023 Most important, Robb writes as a former ballet dancer. —

Madison Mainwaring, The New Republic, 19 Apr. 2023 Now, Bangalter has pivoted to his first solo project in more than 20 years, Mythologies, which began life as a ballet score performed at Bordeaux’s Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux in July 2022. —

Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 4 Apr. 2023 Elsewhere in the country, ballets are also pirouetting up from the page. —

Celia Wren, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2023 Jennifer Lawrence is a Mary Jane or ballet pump kind of woman. —

Alice Cary, Vogue, 24 Mar. 2023 To this, Abraham prescribes a befuddling mix of pedestrian gestures and classical ballet steps, with a base of silky-smooth undulations that are more quintessentially him. —

Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2023 Travelers who don’t book the Airbnb can still experience the Palais Garnier by attending one of the many performances held there, including ballets, operas, concerts and recitals. —

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ballet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "theatrical presentation telling a story by means of dance and mime," borrowed from Italian balletto (also "short, well-done dance, semblance of a dance done for amusement"), from ballo "dance" (noun derivative of ballare "to dance," going back to Late Latin ballāre) + -etto, diminutive suffix — more at ball entry 3

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of ballet was in 1608

See more words from the same year