Acrobat
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An athlete who performs acts requiring skill, agility and coordination, often as part of a circus performance.
- 2 an athlete who performs acts requiring skill and agility and coordination wordnet
- 1 To practise acrobatics.
"Tumbling is different from posturing, and means throwing summersets and walking on your hands; and acrobating means the two together […]"
- 2 To move like an acrobat (with agility, balance, long leaps, etc.). figuratively
"We have known […] veteran reporters, so dumbfounded and confounded by the first fire of Ralph, and his grand and lofty acrobating in elocution, that they up, seized their hat and paper, and sloped, horrified at the prospect of an attempt to “take down” Mr. Emerson."
Example
More examples"To be an acrobat is the ambition of almost every boy."
Etymology
From French acrobate, from Ancient Greek ἀκροβάτης (akrobátēs, “walking on tiptoe, climbing aloft”), from ἀκροβατέω (akrobatéō, “I walk on tiptoe”), from ἄκρον (ákron, “highest or farthest point, mountain top, peak”) + βαίνω (baínō, “I walk, step”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.