Meaning & use
pirouette
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Meanings
nouncountablespecialist
A full spin of the body on the point or ball of one foot, done by a dancer or skater.
Grammar: Usually used with do, perform or execute: a double pirouette.
Patterns
- do a pirouette
- a pirouette on one foot
The ballerina finished with three perfect pirouettes.
The skater lost her balance halfway through a pirouette.
Our teacher showed us how to spot a point to keep the head steady in a pirouette.
verbintransitive
To spin quickly on one foot, as a dancer does.
Grammar: No object: she pirouetted across the stage.
Patterns
- pirouette across something
- pirouette around
She pirouetted across the stage to loud applause.
The little girl pirouetted in her new skirt.
He pirouetted on the ice and landed gracefully.
nouncountablefigurative
A neat turn or reversal in thought or action, especially a sudden change of position.
Grammar: Used figuratively, often for politicians' changes of mind.
Patterns
- a pirouette on something
The minister performed a political pirouette and denied his earlier statement.
Her answer was a smooth verbal pirouette around the question.
The company did a quick pirouette and dropped the old policy.
Word forms
| plural | pirouettes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | pirouettes |
| past tense | pirouetted |
| past participle | pirouetted |
| -ing form | pirouetting |
Common combinations
- double pirouette
- She completed a double pirouette without wobbling.
- execute a pirouette
- The dancer executed a pirouette on pointe.
- graceful pirouette
- A graceful pirouette brought the audience to its feet.
- pirouette on ice
- The champion skater did a pirouette on ice.
- pirouette around
- The toddler pirouetted around the living room.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spin
- Spin is the general word for turning round and round, whereas pirouette is a controlled turn balanced on one foot.
- twirl
- Twirl is lighter and playful and suits any quick turn, even a child's, while pirouette sounds trained.
- whirl
- Whirl implies fast, almost wild motion, while pirouette is precise.
- turn
- Turn is the most general and says nothing about speed, skill or balance.
Word family
- pirouetted verb
- past form of the verb
- pirouetting verb
- the -ing form
- pirouettes noun
- plural of pirouette
Commonly confused: pirouette or silhouette?
pirouette vs silhouette
Silhouette ends with a similar -ette sound and spelling but means an outline or dark shape.
Practice
The dancer spun ____ on one foot, turning twice before landing.
Choose one answer.
In a pirouette is the natural phrase for a spinning turn on one foot. The other prepositions do not fit the noun in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pirouette”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.