noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Used as a generic name for many native British dances, especially where partners face each other in a long line.
2. 2
   a type of folk dance in which couples are arranged in sets or face one another in a line wordnet

Verb

1. 1
   perform a contradance wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

contra dansecontra dansecontradancecontradancecontredansecontredanse

Example

More examples

"It was not quadrille dancing, nor minuet dancing, nor even country-dance dancing."

Etymology

From French contre-dance, from French contre (“against”) + danse (“dance”). Erroneously thought to be from country + dance.

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