What does "waltz" mean?
A ballroom dance in 3/4 time.
Waltz
/wɔlts/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A ballroom dance in 3/4 time.
- Grammar: waltz is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: advance, ballroom dance, breeze, clear.
- Useful contrasts: falter, jerk, jolt.
- Usage evidence: She played a waltz on the piano.
How to use "waltz"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "waltz" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "waltz" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "waltz" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "waltz" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "waltz" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "advance" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "waltz", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A ballroom dance in 3/4 time.
"Miss Esler and Mr. McMorrow went to Kalgoorlie to adjudicate at the goldfields waltz and quickstep championships, and found the standard of dancing surprisingly high."
- 2 a ballroom dance in triple time with a strong accent on the first beat wordnet
- 3 A piece of music for this dance (or in triple time).
- 4 music composed in triple time for waltzing wordnet
- 5 A simple task. informal
Show 1 more definition
- 6 an assured victory (especially in an election) wordnet
Verb
- 1 To dance the waltz (with). intransitive, transitive
"They waltzed for twenty-one hours and seventeen minutes straight, setting a record."
- 2 dance a waltz wordnet
- 3 To move briskly and unhesitatingly, especially in an inappropriately casual manner, or when unannounced or uninvited. intransitive, transitive, usually
"He waltzed into the room like he owned the place."
- 4 To accomplish a task with little effort. informal
"Don't worry about the interview — you'll waltz it."
- 5 To move with fanfare. transitive
"And he said, what he had planned in his head from the start, if we got Jim out all safe, was for us to[…] take him back up home on a steamboat, in style, and pay him for his lost time, and write word ahead and get out all the niggers around, and have them waltz him into town with a torchlight procession and a brass-band, and then he would be a hero, and so would we."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
"According to the Atlantic, national security adviser Mike Waltz earlier this month convened a text conversation with top US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to discuss strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen who had been threatening international shipping in the Red Sea. Waltz, apparently accidentally, added Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the chain."
- 2 A place in the United States:; A township in Wabash County, Indiana. countable, uncountable
- 3 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Rowan County, Kentucky. countable, uncountable
- 4 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Huron Township, Wayne County, Michigan. countable, uncountable
Example
"She played a waltz on the piano."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "waltz"?
Common synonyms include: advance, ballroom dance, breeze, clear, clog, coast.
How do you use "waltz" in a sentence?
She played a waltz on the piano.
How do you pronounce "waltz"?
Pronounced /wɔlts/.
Etymology
From German Walzer, from walzen (“to dance”), from Old High German walzan (“to turn”), from Proto-Germanic *walt- (“to turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn”). Doublet of valse. More at *waltaną.