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
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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
Zoe Papelis, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2025
Qatar is at the center of the Middle East’s diplomatic quadrille.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
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
The relationships move like an eighteenth-century quadrille, at once restrained and spritely.
—Michael W. Clune, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 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
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
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
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Noun
The crowd at the Kirklands’ ball, however, would’ve placed a particular emphasis on dancing in a more traditional way, and Carrafa incorporated patterns from quadrilles into the waltzes to add structure, mirroring the more regimented dance formations of the period.
—Zoe Papelis, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2025
Qatar is at the center of the Middle East’s diplomatic quadrille.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
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
The relationships move like an eighteenth-century quadrille, at once restrained and spritely.
—Michael W. Clune, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 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
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
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
Cite this Entry
“Quadrille.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quadrille. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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