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   

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

Though just touring the building would have been exciting enough, on Saturday night Studio One — Abbey Road’s biggest space, typically used for recording film soundtracks — was transformed into a dance hall. —Ellise Shafer, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026

There is plenty to see and do in Jamaica's vibrant capital city, from the must-visit Bob Marley Museum and the National Gallery of Jamaica to award-winning restaurants and buzzing dance halls. —Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 23 Feb. 2026

The dolls were like sketches, and among the pieces born from these miniature looks was a flapper dress inspired by Bal Bullier, the Belle Époque Parisian dance hall that, in 1913, Sonia Delaunay famously depicted in a panorama of moving color. —Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 16 Feb. 2026

Few places are as iconic as the Balera dell’Ortica, a family‑run venue that mixes restaurant, dance hall and bowling alley. —Jared Perlo, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for dance hall

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• catarrhal
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol