1
: a four-handed variant of ombre popular especially in the 18th century
2
: a square dance for four couples made up of five or six figures chiefly in ⁶/₈ and ²/₄ time
also
: music for this dance
: marked with squares or rectangles
Did you know?
The quadrille, named for its four couples that form the sides of a square, seems to have begun as a French country dance. In the 18th century it became fashionable among the French nobility; as performed by elegantly dressed aristocrats, it became slow and formal. It crossed over to England and from there to New England, where it turned back into a dance for the common people. It soon evolved into the American square dance, a lively type of dance that employs a "caller" to make sure everyone remembers the steps.
Examples of quadrille in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 27 Sep. 2023
As Marsalis learned, Johnson had more than 200 compositions published, including cotillions, quadrilles, waltzes, reels, operatic airs, military marches and quicksteps.
—Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2023
The relationships move like an eighteenth-century quadrille, at once restrained and spritely.
—Michael W. Clune, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
Square dancing is also derived from various traditional European dances, including the Morris Dance from England and a French dance form called the quadrille, first documented in the seventeenth century.
—Shirley MacFarland, cleveland, 19 Aug. 2022
Music hall-goers quickly become enamored with the cancan, an energetic new dance style inspired by the quadrille in which dancers kicked their legs high into the air—and exposed their petticoats in the process.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2022
Carrie, assuming she would be included, had been practicing the quadrille with her friends for weeks.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2022
These include the long rein, the airs above the ground and the quadrille.
—Sheryl Devore, chicagotribune.com, 16 June 2021
Mary, on the other hand, famously danced a quadrille at his first inauguration — with Sen. Stephen Douglas, her former boyfriend and the man Lincoln had defeated for the presidency.
—Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2021
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.
Noun
There's no matchmaking or ribbon clutching (the ribbon on Jane's dress!), and no one dances a quadrille but whatever.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 27 Sep. 2023
As Marsalis learned, Johnson had more than 200 compositions published, including cotillions, quadrilles, waltzes, reels, operatic airs, military marches and quicksteps.
—Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2023
The relationships move like an eighteenth-century quadrille, at once restrained and spritely.
—Michael W. Clune, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
Square dancing is also derived from various traditional European dances, including the Morris Dance from England and a French dance form called the quadrille, first documented in the seventeenth century.
—Shirley MacFarland, cleveland, 19 Aug. 2022
Music hall-goers quickly become enamored with the cancan, an energetic new dance style inspired by the quadrille in which dancers kicked their legs high into the air—and exposed their petticoats in the process.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2022
Carrie, assuming she would be included, had been practicing the quadrille with her friends for weeks.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2022
These include the long rein, the airs above the ground and the quadrille.
—Sheryl Devore, chicagotribune.com, 16 June 2021
Mary, on the other hand, famously danced a quadrille at his first inauguration — with Sen. Stephen Douglas, her former boyfriend and the man Lincoln had defeated for the presidency.
—Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Quadrille.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quadrille. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share