Meaning & use
breakdance
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To dance in an athletic street style with spins, freezes, and acrobatic moves on the floor.
Grammar: No object; you can add a place phrase: breakdance in the street.
Patterns
- breakdance to something
- breakdance in/on a place
The kids breakdance to hip-hop in the square every Saturday.
He learned to breakdance from videos when he was twelve.
They breakdanced on a sheet of cardboard at the station.
noununcountable
An energetic street dance style with spins, freezes, and acrobatic floor moves, often done to hip-hop.
Grammar: No article and no plural: She teaches breakdance.
Patterns
- do breakdance
- a breakdance battle
Breakdance became an Olympic sport in 2024.
The crew won the breakdance battle in front of a huge crowd.
He teaches breakdance at a community center.
Word forms
| third person singular | breakdances |
|---|---|
| past tense | breakdanced |
| past participle | breakdanced |
| -ing form | breakdancing |
Common combinations
- breakdance battle
- Two crews faced off in a breakdance battle.
- breakdance crew
- His breakdance crew travels to competitions abroad.
- breakdance to hip-hop
- They breakdance to hip-hop beats in the park.
- learn to breakdance
- She learned to breakdance from her older brother.
Synonyms and how they differ
- break
- The original dance term, now official in competitions; it is a noun and verb used mainly by dancers themselves.
- street dance
- A wider label covering several urban styles; breakdance is one specific style within it.
Word family
- breakdancing noun
- The activity or style of doing this dance.
- breakdancer noun
- A person who performs this dance.
Commonly confused: breakdance or break dance?
breakdance vs break dance
Written as two words, it can look like a verb phrase meaning 'dance during a break'; the single word 'breakdance' is the street dance style.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'breakdance' correctly?
Choose one answer.
As a verb it takes normal third-person -s: 'She breakdances.' Option 2 lacks the ending, option 3 mixes 'is' with the base form, and option 4 uses past tense with 'ago' incorrectly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “breakdance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.