ballet flat

noun

plural ballet flats

1

: a slip-on shoe having a very low flat heel or no heel and resembling a ballet slipper

Ballet flats are elegant and minimalist, but that doesn't mean they're boring. A classic leather ballet flat is a must-have component of any capsule wardrobe …

—Morgan Halberg

2

: ballet slipper sense 1

Downstairs, in the young women's class, the only break that students have is for changing from ballet flats into toe shoes before taking up positions at the bar.

—Ann Geracimos

Examples of ballet flat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The company capitalized on the ballet flat craze by offering the popular style in a full spectrum of colors, prints and customizable options. — Justin Zacks, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026

Pairing them with sleek midi skirts creates a flattering, balanced silhouette—and swapping Diana’s ballet flats for knee-high boots gives the outfit a modern edge. — Nils Doose, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026

Plenty of others agree that these ballet flats are a home run. — Lauren Finney Harden, InStyle, 29 Oct. 2026

The shoe in question was Bared Footwear’s Turtur ballet flat — a square-toed silhouette with a mary jane strap and a slight heel designed to help alleviate foot and calf pain, along with a biomechanical footbed. — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined at sense 1