dance-off

noun

ˈdan(t)s-ˌȯf How to pronounce dance-off (audio)
ˈdän(t)s-
plural dance-offs
: a dancing competition
The finals were a dance-off—one by one, each girl danced her routine alone, on stage, in front of an auditorium full of hundreds of strangers.—Mark Coddington
One night they happened to catch a fox trot performed on Dancing With the Stars, the ABC battle-of-the-ballroom hit that paired … celebrities with professional dancers in a six-week dance-off.—Michelle Andrews

Examples of dance-off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Our dance-off is West Side Story meets White Chicks. — Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 23 June 2026 Other events include a battle of the bands, best float competition, city street dance-off and more. — Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 30 Apr. 2026 The centerpiece is, of course, the melee/dance-off between the ensemble in white tutus and the violent thugs, toe blade and all. — Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2026 At their New York show, attendees took the stage to participate in dance-offs, Q&As and drinking games. — Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 5 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for dance-off

Word History

Etymology

dance entry 1 + -off

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dance-off was in 1967

Rhymes for dance-off

See All Rhymes for dance-off

Browse Nearby Words

dance of death
dance-off
dance palace
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dance-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dance-off. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All