What does "pirouette" mean?

A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.

What is a synonym for "pirouette"?

Common synonyms include: charybdis, circle, circulate, circumrotate, circumvolute, crank.

Pronounced //ˌpɪ.ɹəˈwɛt//.

//ˌpɪ.ɹəˈwɛt// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Noun

1
A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.
"[…]like what?—like the most beautiful pirouette by [Marie] Taglioni, let us say."
2
(ballet) a rapid spin of the body (especially on the toes as in ballet) wordnet
3
The whirling about of a horse.
4
A wooden mouthpiece assembly or lip rest used in some European double-reed instruments.

Verb

1
To perform a pirouette; to whirl on the toes, like a dancer. intransitive
"The way in which they dance; the height to which they spring; the impossible and inhuman extent to which they pirouette; […]."
2
do a pirouette, usually as part of a dance wordnet

"[…]like what?—like the most beautiful pirouette by [Marie] Taglioni, let us say."

Borrowed from French pirouette, see there for more; attested since 1706.

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