pirouette

noun pir·ou·ette \ ˌpir-ə-ˈwet \

Updated on: 16 May 2018

Definition of pirouette

: a rapid whirling about of the body; especially : a full turn on the toe or ball of one foot in ballet

—

pirouette

intransitive verb

See pirouette defined for English-language learners

See pirouette defined for kids

Examples of pirouette in a Sentence

the elegant pirouettes of the prima ballerina
the ballerina's perfectly executed pirouette

Recent Examples of pirouette from the Web

Women sipped tea in cups decorated with floral patterns and ate meringues, red velvet cookies, and chocolate pirouettes.

— laura crimaldi, BostonGlobe.com, "Ahead of royal wedding, women make fascinators in Winthrop," 12 May 2018
Deadpool also does some nice pirouettes and grand jetés in between — in stilettos, no less! — as Céline goes full Céline on stage.

— thuy ong, The Verge, "Watch Deadpool pay tribute to Flashdance and frolic around Céline Dion," 3 May 2018
The baby is reportedly a girl and has already started doing double pirouettes (unconfirmed).

— lauren le vine, Redbook, "Morning Headlines: Angelina Jolie Stuns on the Red Carpet, Kim & Kanye Are Having a... — and More," 3 June 2013
Adding theatrics were earrings shaped like a stage, complete with red curtains and a detailed backdrop against which a golden ballerina balanced in an eternal pirouette.

— laird borrelli-persson, Vogue, "See the Exquisite, One-of-a-Kind Jewels from Dolce & Gabbana’s Latest Alta Gioielleria Collection Here," 7 Apr. 2018
Verb Ballets, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, will be doing a pirouette over to expanded space at The Dealership, shown here, from the dance troupe's current home in the Van Aken District.

— thomas jewell, cleveland.com, "Dance troupe Verb Ballets moving into The Dealership in Chagrin-Lee," 27 Mar. 2018
But one subclass of the 3,000 or so satellites swarming around Earth is particularly useful: the 400 that pirouette around the planet at roughly 22,000 miles above the equator.

— NBC News, "Alien satellites might offer a new way to find E.T.," 19 Mar. 2018
Venus did her trademark pirouette and waved to the crowd.

— helene elliott, latimes.com, "Venus makes it past Serena; sisterhood shines after match," 13 Mar. 2018
On Thursday, Irlan Silva had the star solos, which emphasized pirouettes in retiré.

— jeffrey gantz, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston Ballet opens with high-octane ‘Parts in Suite’," 11 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pirouette.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of pirouette

French, literally, teetotum

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1706

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

pirouette Synonyms

Synonyms

gyration, reel, revolution, roll, rotation, spin, twirl, wheel, whirl;

Related Words

circuit, circulation, ring, round;

coil, curl, curve, spiral, twist, whorl;

circle, orbit;

eddy, swirl;

Other Dance Terms

attitude, honor, saltatory, sashay, taw

PIROUETTE Defined for English Language Learners

pirouette

noun

Definition of pirouette for English Language Learners

: a full turn on the front of one foot in ballet

Learn More about pirouette

See words that rhyme with pirouette Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pirouette Spanish Central: Translation of pirouette Nglish: Translation of pirouette for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pirouette

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pirouette

Definition of pirouette

pirouette

Examples of pirouette in a Sentence

Recent Examples of pirouette from the Web

Origin and Etymology of pirouette

pirouette Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Dance Terms

PIROUETTE Defined for English Language Learners

pirouette

Definition of pirouette for English Language Learners

Learn More about pirouette

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pirouette

Definition of pirouette

pirouette

Examples of pirouette in a Sentence

Recent Examples of pirouette from the Web

Origin and Etymology of pirouette

pirouette Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Dance Terms

PIROUETTE Defined for English Language Learners

pirouette

Definition of pirouette for English Language Learners

Learn More about pirouette

Seen and Heard

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Love words? Need even more definitions?

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