dance-off

noun

ˈdan(t)s-ˌȯf 

ˈdän(t)s-

plural dance-offs

: a dancing competition

The finals were a dance-off—one by one, each girl danced her routine alone, on stage, in front of an auditorium full of hundreds of strangers.

—Mark Coddington

One night they happened to catch a fox trot performed on Dancing With the Stars, the ABC battle-of-the-ballroom hit that paired … celebrities with professional dancers in a six-week dance-off.

—Michelle Andrews

Examples of dance-off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

My only qualm is that there was no dance-off between members of the Bananas and their bitter rivals, the Party Animals. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2025

One day later, on Saturday, Aug. 23, Alec and Hilaria's daughter Carmen joined her parents for their latest dance-off. —Erin Clack, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025

This can be in the form of game nights, silly challenges or spontaneous dance-offs in the kitchen. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025

The special features five divers working with an underwater choreographer to compete in what can only be described as the most dangerous dance-off ever filmed. —Jenzia Burgos, StyleCaster, 20 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

dance entry 1 + -off

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dance-off

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff