ballet

B2 Topic:Art & Music

US /bælˈeɪ/ UK /ˈbal.eɪ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like valet /v/ vs /b/

Freq #5645

Meanings

1

noun
A graceful, classical form of dance, often performed to tell a story with music.

She has studied ballet since she was five years old.
2

noun
A staged performance of this dance, usually with music and sometimes a story.

We're going to see a ballet at the theatre tomorrow.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a staged performance of... concert dance

Word family

Forms ballets

Derived forms antiballetballetcoreballetgoerballetgoingballeticballetlikeballetmasterballetomaneballetomaniaballetwearnonballetpreballet

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

ballet company
a group of dancers and staff who produce ballet performances

Noun + noun

Etymology

Borrowed from French ballet, from Italian balletto (“short dance, ballet”), diminutive form of ballo (“group dance”), from Late Latin ballō (“to dance”).

balletto Italian ballō la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Art & Music Theater & Performance

External links

# ballet

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bælˈeɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbal.eɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 5645

## Meanings
1. A graceful, classical form of dance, often performed to tell a story with music.
2. A staged performance of this dance, usually with music and sometimes a story.

## Examples
- She has studied ballet since she was five years old.
- We're going to see a ballet at the theatre tomorrow.

## Derived Forms
- antiballet
- balletcore
- balletgoer
- balletgoing
- balletic
- balletlike
- balletmaster
- balletomane
- balletomania
- balletwear
- nonballet
- preballet

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: balletto
- Root: ballō

## Etymology
Borrowed from French ballet, from Italian balletto (“short dance, ballet”), diminutive form of ballo (“group dance”), from Late Latin ballō (“to dance”).

## AI Etymology
Ballet was borrowed from French ballet, from Italian balletto (“short dance, ballet”), diminutive form of ballo (“group dance”), from Late Latin ballō (“to dance”).

## Topics
- Art & Music
- Theater & Performance

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