pirouetting

noun

1. a whirling about on one foot or on the points of the toes, as in ballet dancing.
2. Dressage. a complete turn in which the horse uses its hind legs as a pivot.

verb (used without object), pir·ou·et·ted, pir·ou·et·ting.

3. to perform a pirouette; whirl, as on the toes.

noun

1. a body spin, esp in dancing, on the toes or the ball of the foot

verb

2. (intr) to perform a pirouette

n.1706, from French pirouette “spinning top; pirouette in dancing,” from Middle French pirouet “spinning top” (15c.), from Gallo-Romance root *pir- “peg, plug” (cf. Italian piruolo “peg top”) + diminutive suffix -ette. v.1822, from pirouette (n.) and also from French pirouetter. Related: Pirouetted; pirouetting.