What does "caracole" mean?

A half-turn performed by a horse and rider in dressage.

What is a synonym for "caracole"?

Common synonyms include: amble, antic, beam, bob, bounce, canter.

Pronounced //ˈkæɹəkəʊl//.

//ˈkæɹəkəʊl// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Noun

1
A half-turn performed by a horse and rider in dressage.
2
A combat maneuver where riders of the same squadron turn simultaneously to their left or to their right. historical
"How the chargers neigh and champ, / (Their riders weary of camp,) / With curvet and with caracole!"
3
A spiral staircase.

Verb

1
To execute a caracole.
"Prince John, upon a grey and high-mettled palfrey, caracoled within the lists at the head of his jovial party, laughing loud with his train, and eyeing with all the boldness of royal criticism the beauties who adorned the lofty galleries."
2
make a half turn on a horse, in dressage wordnet

"How the chargers neigh and champ, / (Their riders weary of camp,) / With curvet and with caracole!"

Borrowed from French caracole (noun, literally “snail's shell”), caracoler (verb).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.