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cavort

verb
ca·​vort | \ kə-ˈvȯrt How to pronounce cavort (audio) \
cavorted; cavorting; cavorts

Definition of cavort

intransitive verb

1 : to leap or dance about in a lively manner Otters cavorted in the stream.
2 : to engage in extravagant behavior The governor has been criticized for cavorting with celebrities.
Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about cavort

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Examples of cavort in a Sentence

Otters cavorted in the stream. children cavorting on the first sunny day of spring

Recent Examples on the Web

 Roberts – who with Ernest Riera co-wrote both films – follows a similar slow wind-up, including echoing opening scenes, and is a little too fond of showing our heroines cavorting in bikinis. — Mark Kennedy, Detroit Free Press, "‘47 Meters’ sequel is a toothy success," 15 Aug. 2019 Replace the fictional lore of witches with grotesque features wearing black pointy hats, poisoning apples and cavorting with the devil. — Anna Bauman, Detroit Free Press, "Crystals, healing, acceptance: Inside the world of Michigan's witches," 2 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cavort.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of cavort

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for cavort

earlier also cauvaut, cavault, covault, of obscure origin

Note: All early attestations of the word are North American, the first known (as cauvauted) in a letter written by the North Carolina politician John Steele in April, 1794. Various etymologies have been suggested: that the word is altered from curvet entry 1; that it is comprised of the unstressed expressive prefix ca- (as in caboodle) and vault entry 3; that it has some relation with French chahuter "to dance the chahut (a boisterous, somewhat indecent dance), to make an uproar" (see Leo Spitzer, "Cavort," Journal of English and Germanic Philology, vol. 48 (1949), pp. 132-37). Apparently the same word is cavaulting "coition" in John Camden Hotten's A Dictionary of Modern, Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words (London, 1859). In the second edition of Hotten's dictionary (London, 1860) the word has the etymological note "Lingua Franca, cavolta," though there appears to be no evidence for such a word in Lingua Franca.

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More Definitions for cavort

cavort

verb
How to pronounce cavort (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of cavort

: to jump or move around in a lively manner
: to spend time in an enjoyable and often wild or improper way

See the full definition for cavort in the English Language Learners Dictionary

cavort

verb
ca·​vort | \ kə-ˈvort How to pronounce cavort (audio) \
cavorted; cavorting

Kids Definition of cavort

: to move or hop about in a lively way … I saw the raccoons cavort around my fireplace …— Jean Craighead George, My Side of the Mountain

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More from Merriam-Webster on cavort

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with cavort

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for cavort

Spanish Central: Translation of cavort

Nglish: Translation of cavort for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of cavort for Arabic Speakers

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