Cancan
//ˈkænˌkæn// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.
"They formed up, in perfect silence, in two lines, facing each other between us and the fire, and then the dance - a sort of infernal and fiendish cancan - began."
- 2 a high-kicking dance of French origin performed by a female chorus line wordnet
- 3 A trick where one leg is brought over the seat, so that both legs are on one side.
Verb
- 1 To dance the cancan.
Example
More examples"They formed up, in perfect silence, in two lines, facing each other between us and the fire, and then the dance - a sort of infernal and fiendish cancan - began."
Etymology
Borrowed from French cancan.
Related phrases
More for "cancan"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.