Meaning & use
ballet
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Meanings
noununcountable
A formal style of dance with precise, graceful steps, often performed on stage to music.
Grammar: No plural when talking about the art form: She studies ballet.
Patterns
- study ballet
- dance ballet
- a ballet dancer
She has studied ballet since she was six years old.
The company performs both classical ballet and modern dance.
He gave up football to focus on ballet.
nouncountable
A particular dance work or performance in this style, with its own music and story.
Grammar: Countable here: a ballet, two ballets — the whole show or piece.
Patterns
- a ballet by someone
- perform a ballet
- watch a ballet
We saw a wonderful ballet by Tchaikovsky last night.
The theatre is staging a new ballet this spring.
Her first ballet was based on an old folk tale.
nouncountable or uncountablemusic
The music written to accompany a dance work in this style.
Grammar: Can be uncountable as a genre or countable for one work: I love ballet music; Stravinsky's ballets.
Patterns
- ballet music
- a ballet score
The orchestra played the ballet beautifully.
He collects recordings of famous ballets.
Word forms
| plural | ballets |
|---|
Common combinations
- ballet dancer
- Her sister is a professional ballet dancer.
- ballet company
- The national ballet company tours every summer.
- classical ballet
- Classical ballet demands years of strict training.
- ballet shoes
- She packed her ballet shoes for the class.
- study ballet
- He began to study ballet at the age of eight.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- ballerina noun
- A female ballet dancer, especially a leading one.
- balletomane noun
- A person who is very enthusiastic about ballet.
Commonly confused: ballet or ballad?
ballet vs ballad
A ballad is a slow song or poem telling a story; ballet is the dance form. They sound similar but are unrelated.
Practice
Which sentence uses ballet correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A ballet' is a countable noun for a dance performance, so 'watched a ballet' fits. Option 1 needs 'ballet shoes', option 2 needs 'ballet dancer', and option 4 confuses ballet with bamboo.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ballet”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.