Word
ballerina
Phoneticsbal·le·ri·na
US/ˌbæɫɝˈinə/
UK/bˌæləɹˈiːnɐ/
Definition
n. a woman who dances in a ballet. You use this word for a professional dancer who performs on stage.
n. a female ballet dancer, specifically one who performs professionally. While historically used for principal dancers, it now serves as a general term for any woman in a ballet company.
Examples
“The ballerina practices her jumps every morning.”
“After years of training at the academy, she finally achieved her dream of becoming a professional ballerina.”
“The lead ballerina executed a series of flawless pirouettes, capturing the audience's attention with her technical precision and emotional depth during the final act.”
Examples
simple
“The ballerina practices her jumps every morning.”
contextual
“After years of training at the academy, she finally achieved her dream of becoming a professional ballerina.”
complex
“The lead ballerina executed a series of flawless pirouettes, capturing the audience's attention with her technical precision and emotional depth during the final act.”
Usage
The term is gender-specific; 'ballet dancer' is the gender-neutral alternative for men or mixed groups.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian ballerina.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.