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dance

danceverb

American /dæns/ British /dɑːns/ American English uses the a of cat; British English usually uses the a of father.

third-person singular dances past tense danced past participle danced present participle dancing

very commondefining vocabulary

To dance is to move your body in time to music, or to move quickly and lightly as if doing so.

to musicmove your body in time to music
intransitive [I] verb + adverb or preposition [V + adv/prep] verb + preposition + object [V + prep + obj]
- Do you want to dance?
- They danced all night at the wedding. V + adv/prep
- She danced with her grandfather. V + prep + obj
- We danced to our favorite songs in the kitchen. V + prep + obj
Collocations
verb + preposition dance with someone, dance to music
verb + adverb dance slowly, dance well, dance all night
a kind of dancedo a particular kind of dance
transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj]
- Can you dance the tango? V + obj
- At the end of the evening, they danced a slow waltz. V + obj
Collocations
verb + noun dance a waltz, dance the tango
move lightlymove quickly and lightly, up and down or from side to side
intransitive [I] verb + adverb or preposition [V + adv/prep] literary
- Leaves danced in the wind. V + adv/prep
- Light danced on the surface of the water. V + adv/prep
- Her eyes danced with excitement. V + adv/prep
Collocations
noun + verb leaves dance, light dances, eyes dance

Word family

dance
dancer
dancing

Common mistakes

We danced with the music. We danced to the music.
Use to for the music; use with for the person you dance with.

For translators

Pronunciation trap The vowel differs by variety: the a of cat in American English, usually the a of father in British English.