vaudeville

noun vaude·ville \ ˈvȯd-vəl , ˈväd- , ˈvōd- , -ˌvil ; ˈvȯ-də- , ˈvä- , ˈvō- \

|Updated on: 30 Jul 2018

Examples: vaudeville in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of vaudeville

1 : a light often comic theatrical piece frequently combining pantomime, dialogue, dancing, and song

2 : stage entertainment consisting of various acts (such as performing animals, comedians, or singers)

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vaudevillian

play \ˌvȯd-ˈvil-yən, ˌväd-, ˌvōd-; ˌvȯ-də-, ˌvä-, ˌvō-\ noun or adjective

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Examples of vaudeville in a Sentence

She became a big star in vaudeville.

Recent Examples of vaudeville from the Web

Chicago deliberately transforms the art of vaudeville into a metaphor for riotous 1920s Chicago.

— hugh hunter, Philly.com, "'Chicago' at Broadway Theatre of Pitman: Lots of talent, entertainment," 8 July 2018
Archeophone does small pressings that target music geeks, scholars and lovers of vaudeville.

— geoff edgers, Washington Post, "This mysterious recording was the missing musical link to an era when racism was the tune," 22 June 2018
Especially the tile-domed Balboa Theatre, a 1,500-seat vaudeville and movie palace built in 1924 at Fourth Avenue and E Street downtown.

— roger showley, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Steve Karo, who led the effort to save Balboa Theatre, dies at 75," 21 June 2018
Edmonson was a square peg even then, with an inimitable warble that would’ve been a natural fit in the days of vaudeville.

— andrew dansby, Houston Chronicle, "Kat Edmonson sings about the light and dark in the night," 16 May 2018
A century ago, as the West Rock Theater, the venue offered silent movies and vaudeville acts.

— christopher arnott, courant.com, "A Coarse, Cacophonous, Compelling 'Cabaret' In New Haven," 26 June 2018
But here — thanks to the vaudeville deftness of Robert Dorfman’s Stephano and Andrew Weems’ Trinculo, both having a field day with Manoel Felciano’s preeningly lecherous Caliban — the comedy is reborn.

— charles mcnulty, latimes.com, "'The Tempest' at the Old Globe: Kate Burton casts a benevolent spell as Prospera," 26 June 2018
In addition to the entertainment on screen, Friedfeld added that there would be novelty acts and vaudeville performances as well.

— avinash ramsadeen, Fox News, "Forgotten America: One of the original Loews Theatres gave New Yorkers an escape during the Great Depression," 16 June 2018
Crucial, since the book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart is one of Broadway’s funniest, with as much vaudeville and 1940s shtick as Roman farce.

— john timpane, Philly.com, "Princeton Festival presents a wild, tuneful, stripped-down 'Forum'," 12 June 2018

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

Did You Know?

In the 15th century, several amusing songs became popular across France. These songs were said to have been written by a man named Olivier Basselin who lived in the valley of the river Vire in northwest France. The songs eventually became known as chansons de vau-de-Vire, meaning "songs of the valley of Vire." Other people began writing and performing similar songs, and as this form of entertainment became more widespread, the link to vau-de-Vire was forgotten. The nickname was shortened to one word, vaudevire. As the phenomenon spread beyond France, further changes in pronunciation and spelling shifted vaudevire into vaudeville. The meaning also broadened to include humorous performances and variety shows.

Origin and Etymology of vaudeville

borrowed from French, "satirical song, comic theatrical piece," going back to Middle French (chançons de) vaul de ville "topical satirical songs," earlier vau de vire, named (according to 16th-century French authors) after the val de Vire, valley of the Vire River in Normandy, where such songs were allegedly composed

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1827

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Performing Arts Terms

diva, dramaturgy, loge, prestidigitation, proscenium, supernumerary, zany

VAUDEVILLE Defined for English Language Learners

vaudeville

noun

Definition of vaudeville for English Language Learners

: a type of entertainment that was popular in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and that had many different performers doing songs, dances, and comic acts