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ballerina

ballerinas

A girl or woman who dances professionally with a ballet is a ballerina. The lead dancer in "The Nutcracker" is a ballerina.

It's more common to call a female dancer a "ballet dancer" than a ballerina these days. Historically, the term ballerina was saved for the very best female solo dancers in a ballet company, similar to the word diva in opera. In French, you call a female dancer a danseuse, and while the word ballerina means "dancing girl" in Italian, it's more accepted to use the word danzatrice in Italy.

Definitions of ballerina
  1. noun
    a female ballet dancer
    synonyms: danseuse
    see moresee less
    types:
    prima ballerina
    a leading female ballet dancer
    type of:
    ballet dancer
    a trained dancer who is a member of a ballet company
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘ballerina'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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