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Meaning & use

dancing

noun, verb, adjective·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈdɑːnsɪŋ/
US/ˈdænsɪŋ/

“dancing” is a form of “dance”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    The activity of moving your body to music, especially as a hobby, art, or job.

    Grammar: Uncountable: say 'Dancing is fun', not 'a dancing' or 'dancings'.

    Patterns

    • love/hate dancing
    • go dancing
    • dancing is ...
    • a dancing class

    Dancing is my favorite way to relax after work.

    They went dancing at a club on Saturday night.

    She has been taking dancing lessons since she was five.

  2. verbintransitive

    The -ing form of 'dance', used in continuous tenses or after certain verbs.

    Grammar: Use it after be for continuous tenses, or after verbs like enjoy and stop: She is dancing; He stopped dancing.

    Patterns

    • be dancing
    • enjoy dancing
    • stop/start dancing
    • keep dancing

    Look, the children are dancing in the yard.

    He enjoys dancing, but he hates singing in public.

  3. adjectivebefore a noun

    Moving to music; used mainly before a noun to describe people, pairs, or events.

    Grammar: Almost always before a noun: dancing partners, a dancing bear; it is not used after 'be' in this sense.

    Patterns

    • dancing partners
    • a dancing bear
    • dancing shoes

    The couple met as dancing partners in a competition.

    She put on her dancing shoes and joined the party.

Common combinations

go dancing
We should go dancing this Friday.
dancing lessons/classes
He signed up for dancing lessons at the community center.
dancing shoes
These old shoes are fine for dancing.
love/hate dancing
My brother loves dancing but I hate it.
dancing partner
She found a new dancing partner for the contest.

Synonyms and how they differ

dance
As a noun, 'dance' often means one specific event or a style (a dance, the tango), while 'dancing' means the activity in general.

Word family

dance verb
To move your body to music.
dancer noun
A person who dances.
dance noun
A particular style or a social event with music.

Commonly confused: dancing or dance? dancing or dancing vs. danceing?

dancing vs dance

Use 'dancing' for the activity ('Dancing is fun') and 'dance' for a single event or style ('We went to a dance').

dancing vs dancing vs. danceing

The correct spelling drops the 'e': dancing, not danceing.

Practice

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