breakdancing

noun

break·​danc·​ing ˈbrāk-ˌdan(t)-siŋ 

variants or break dancing or less commonly break-dancing

: a style of hip-hop dance in which soloists perform acrobatic moves that often involve touching various parts of the body (such as the back or head) to the ground

Breakdancing takes incredible athleticism and energy, but it's also personal and highly artistic …

—Jessica Mason

The sweat suit became a B-boy uniform partly because disco gear did not lend itself to the gymnastics of break dancing.

—Tony Karon

The Rock Steady Crew popularized break-dancing in the early 1980s, thanks to troupe member Richard Colón—dubbed "Crazy Legs" for his acrobatic feats.

—Raquel Laneri

With enough space to move, dancers … combine hip-hop and breakdancing moves with their own variations to produce their own unique forms of movement.

—Kevin Griffin

called also breakdance, breaking, B-boying

Examples of breakdancing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Yes, two Americans were competing in the women’s inaugural breakdancing event—none of them were Black. —Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 9 Aug. 2024

Breakdown: The Story of B-Girl Raygun The almost comical performance of Australia’s representative for the new Olympic sport of breakdancing has turned into one of the most meme-able moments out of 2024’s games, but moreover, potentially one of the funniest scandals in sports history. —Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2024

During his monologue, host Jimmy Fallon only needed to mention that breakdancing made its Olympic debut at the Paris games this month for the live audience to start laughing in anticipation of where the segment was headed. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 13 Aug. 2024

The 32-year-old dancer comes from a background of breakdancing and contortionism. —Hikmat Mohammed, WWD, 9 Aug. 2024

Tug of war, pistol dueling and other strange Olympic Games Breaking, or breakdancing, is far from the first unconventional sport to be allowed into the Olympic Games. —Alexandra Banner, CNN, 8 Aug. 2024

The then-budding star had already appeared in a plethora of big American films, like Can’t Buy Me Love and Colors, and won a national breakdancing contest. —Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 6 Aug. 2024

And keep your eyes peeled for Snoop during prime-time Olympics coverage—especially during the breaking (or competitive breakdancing) segments, a sport that is being celebrated at the Games for the very first time. —Vogue, 30 July 2024

By Sean Gregory July 29, 2024 7:00 AM EDT The sport of breaking—competitive breakdancing—will make its Olympic debut in Paris. —Sean Gregory, TIME, 29 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

break entry 2 (in sense "solo instrumental passage") + dancing (from dance entry 1 + -ing entry 1; from the performance of acrobatic dances during a cued series of instrumental breaks in pop songs

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined above