Find the word definition

Crossword clues for pirouette

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
pirouette
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
Pirouettes To finish with, Jennie suggested that Katharine have a go at some pirouettes.
▪ He became like a male ballet dancer - a support to lift up his glamorous partner and help her turn beautiful pirouettes.
▪ He comes on stage performing ballet steps, pirouettes off into the wings, makes some weird grunting sounds, then reappears.
▪ Katharine's first canter pirouette, pretty impressive!
▪ The Deputy Under Secretary rubbed his nose, watched a flake of skin pirouette down to the opened pages of the file.
▪ To be able to get the feel of canter half-pass, pirouettes and flying changes was absolutely amazing!
▪ When he brushed his cheek against hers or supported her waist in multiple pirouettes the sensual heat was unmissable.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Pirouette

Pirouette \Pir`ou*ette"\, n. [F.; of uncertain origin.]

  1. A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing.

  2. (Man.) The whirling about of a horse.

Pirouette

Pirouette \Pir`ou*ette"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pirouetted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pirouetting.] [F. pirouetter.] To perform a pirouette; to whirl, like a dancer.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
pirouette

1706, from French pirouette "spinning top; pirouette in dancing," from Middle French pirouet "spinning top" (15c.), from Gallo-Roman root *pir- "peg, plug" (source of Italian piruolo "peg top") + diminutive suffix -ette.

pirouette

1822, from pirouette (n.) and also from French pirouetter. Related: Pirouetted; pirouetting.\n

Wiktionary
pirouette

n. 1 A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet. 2 The whirling about of a horse. vb. (context intransitive English) To perform a '''pirouette'''; to whirl on the toes, like a dancer.

WordNet
pirouette
  1. n. (ballet) a rapid spin of the body (especially on the toes as in ballet)

  2. v. do a pirouette, usually as part of a dance

Wikipedia
Pirouette (dressage)

A Pirouette is a French word for the Ballet reference, "to whirl about."

A pirouette is a two-track lateral movement asked of a horse in dressage, in which the animal makes a circle with its front end around a smaller circle made by the hind end. Specifically, the front legs and outside hind leg should travel around the inside hind leg, with the horse remaining slightly bent in the direction of travel. From the part of the rider it needs "much practice in collecting and balancing the horse and in using the aids correctly." The horse may perform the movement at the walk or canter, although the pirouette at the walk is more commonly called the turn on the haunches. It "can also be executed at piaffe."

As in all dressage, the horse should remain relaxed, engaged, and responsive, with the poll as the highest point. Ideally, the pirouette will be almost in-place, although many horses perform a slightly larger pirouette. A pirouette may be performed either as a 360-degree turn (full pirouette), 270 degrees (¾-pirouette), or 180-degrees (half-pirouette). Some dressage tests call for two full pirouettes in a row (720 degrees).

Pirouette (disambiguation)

A pirouette is a type of dance turn.

Pirouette may also refer to:

  • Pirouette (cookie), a type of rolled wafer
  • Pirouette (dressage), an equestrian movement
  • Pirouette (mouthpiece), a component of some music instruments
  • Pirouette (song), by A Loss for Words
  • Pirouette, a type of maneuver in playboating

Usage examples of "pirouette".

Many nights I dreamt about doing multiple pirouettes and the feeling was incredibly exhilarating.

I saw that fine figure coming forward with measured steps, and when the dancer had arrived in front of the stage, he raised slowly his rounded arms, stretched them gracefully backward and forward, moved his feet with precision and lightness, took a few small steps, made some battements and pirouettes, and disappeared like a butterfly.

Chelsea, eleven years old and a budding ballerina, jeted between rooms and pirouetted around her father and our guests until her bedtime.

Tents were being struck even while rehearsals continued, so that I saw a seemingly solid pyramid of striped canvas collapse like a flag thrown down and reveal beyond it the grass-green megathere rearing on his hind legs while a dancer pirouetted on his forehead.

He did a beautiful sitting pirouette, came out of it with lunging strokes and did a double Salchow that was a very tough thing to do.

Lifting her arms behind her head, she pirouetted slowly before Robie to show how much she did for her bolero half-jacket and her form-fitting slacks that melted into skylon just above the knees.

At last they paused, and a beautiful young woman sprang out of the ranks and began to pirouette in front of us with a grace and vigour which would have put most ballet girls to shame.

Tourne, pirouette, frappe-toi le ventre, lance ta jambe vers le ciel: devenez des toupies.

Anne wheeled her mount from the road and into the forest, a wind blew through, resurrecting the dead leaves into aerial dancers pirouetting in vorticose ballet.

ANNE WHEELED HER MOUNT from the road and into the forest, a wind blew through, resurrecting the dead leaves into aerial dancers pirouetting in vorticose ballet.

Carreon ships flew by them, pirouetting and concentrating their fire on one of the Iconian ships.

Captain Putz from Royal Ruritanian Airways, and indeed when the show opened, Ralf pranced on stage to gasps, and then nervous giggles, and then some real laughter as he did a drag-queen runway pirouette.

While Zanni cavorted, flickered and pirouetted, he held his elbows high and seemed to dance weightlessly on his tiptoes.

I saw that fine figure coming forward with measured steps, and when the dancer had arrived in front of the stage, he raised slowly his rounded arms, stretched them gracefully backward and forward, moved his feet with precision and lightness, took a few small steps, made some battements and pirouettes, and disappeared like a butterfly.

Immediately two of the blue cephalopods began a stately pirouette about her fingertips, twisting and somersaulting with gravity-defying grace.