prance

/pɹæn(t)s/

//pɹæn(t)s// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"prance" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prance” is uncommon English (frequency #60,387 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,387
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To spring forward on the hind legs.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prance · prance · English

prance · rank #60,387 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,387
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH potpourri

Nearest frequency peer: potpourri (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “prance”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “prance” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for prance
PropertyValue
Headwordprance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɹæn(t)s/
Letters6
Frequency rank#60,387
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “prance” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).prancefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “potpourri” (#60,385), “precipitously” (#60,389), “pompano” (#60,384). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prance” is #60,387. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

prance is uncommon English at frequency #60,387 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /pɹæn(t)s/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for prance in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English prancen, prauncen (“to prance”, literally “to show off”), variant of Middle English pranken (“to prank”), thus probably from the same ultimate root as prank. Cognate with Bavarian prangezen, prangssen (“to put on airs”), Alemannic German… The correct English form is prance, spelled P-R-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To spring forward on the hind legs.
  2. 2
    To strut about in a showy manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how prance appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. John's daughter was prancing about the sitting room, practicing for her school dance.
  2. “So, so beautiful. I'm gonna do one last roly-poly before we go. [snorting, squealing] At least I had one moment of joy in a life of drudgery. Where will the truffle hunt take us next?” “Nowhere. You're free, Jambone. I'm releasing you from nose jail.” “Really? I can stay here in this paradise and prance and frolic?” “Just stick to frolicking.” “[emotiona…

Etymology

From Middle English prancen, prauncen (“to prance”, literally “to show off”), variant of Middle English pranken (“to prank”), thus probably from the same ultimate root as prank. Cognate with Bavarian prangezen, prangssen (“to put on airs”), Alemannic German pranzen (“to strut”).

This word in other languages

encabritarse(Español)se cabrer(Français)empinar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prance"?
"prance" is spelled P-R-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹæn(t)s/.
What does "prance" mean?
As a verb, "prance" means: To spring forward on the hind legs.
How do you pronounce "prance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prance" is /pɹæn(t)s/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "prance"?
From Middle English prancen, prauncen (“to prance”, literally “to show off”), variant of Middle English pranken (“to prank”), thus probably from the same ultimate root as prank. Cognate with Bavarian prangezen, prangssen (“to put on airs”), Aleman... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "prance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Prieto#60,393purser#60,401ramada#60,405Pillai#60,368

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list