dance hall

noun

1
: a large room set aside or suitable for dances
especially : a public hall offering facilities for dancing
2
dancehall
ˈdan(t)s-ˌhȯl How to pronounce dance hall (audio)
ˈdän(t)s-
: a genre of Jamaican music derived from reggae in which an artist improvises vocals over a recorded or live beat
… anyone who knew her or worked with her knows that she loves dancehall and has much respect and passion for the genre.Stephanie K
often used before another noun
dancehall music
A key form of symbolic capital obtainable in Jamaica is knowledge and possession of many Jamaican dancehall records.Marvin Sterling

Examples of dance hall in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Another artist who has been recording and touring since the ‘70s is reggae/dance hall star Barrington Levy, who is at The Webster on Aug. 16. Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2025 As parents took their kids holidaying at Disneyland or Knott’s Berry Farm, the Pike was left more and more to grownups like boisterous sailors and footloose Angelenos and their tastes for pool rooms, bars, dance halls and sideshows. Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025 Mavado took the move personally, and the result was a rift that came to be known as the Gully-Gaza war, a beef that was generally fought on the airwaves and in dance halls. Natalie Meade, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025 Homes, bars, and dance halls pulsed with sound in a discordant, desperate attempt to stave off death. Christina Coulter, People.com, 4 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for dance hall

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dance hall was in 1845

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Cite this Entry

“Dance hall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dance%20hall. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

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