What does cavorting mean?
To cavort is to leap, dance, or romp about with exuberant, often showy playfulness. The word typically describes the energetic antics of animals, children, or celebratory crowds — foals cavorting in a paddock, dancers cavorting across a stage — but it is also applied figuratively to people behaving in a lively or unrestrained way, sometimes with a hint of scandal in journalistic contexts. Cavort is informal in register and carries an unmistakably cheerful, kinetic connotation; there is no quiet way to cavort. The verb first surfaced in eighteenth-century American English, its exact origins remaining uncertain despite proposed links to words like curvet. Its vividness has made it a favorite of sportswriters and feature writers alike, who reach for it whenever ordinary words like 'playing' or 'jumping' feel too flat for the scene at hand.
verb (present participle of 'cavort')To jump or dance around playfully and exuberantly; to behave in a lively, boisterous, or unrestrained manner.
- To leap, prance, or dance about playfully and energetically.
- (Figurative) To engage in lively, uninhibited, or sometimes scandalous social behavior.
"The foals were cavorting in the meadow as the sun rose."
"The puppies spent the afternoon cavorting on the lawn."
"Tabloid photographers caught the actor cavorting with his co-stars at the after-party."
Nobody knows exactly where 'cavort' came from — it appeared out of nowhere in 18th-century America and has been frolicking through the language ever since.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cavorting
The verb cavort emerged in American English in the late eighteenth century, though its precise derivation remains uncertain. One widely cited theory links it to 'curvet', from Italian 'corvetta' and ultimately Latin 'curvus' ('bent' or 'curved'), referring to the leaps of a trained horse, possibly blended with other elements; another suggests an independent coinage. Whatever its exact source, it spread into British English during the nineteenth century, always retaining its sense of exuberant, horse-like bounding.
Related word forms
How cavorting is actually used
Informal to mildly literary in register. The word carries a connotation of carefree, high-spirited energy; when applied to people in tabloid-style contexts it can suggest frivolity or impropriety, so tone depends heavily on context. Commonly used of animals, children, and celebratory crowds.
Easily confused with cavorting
'Cavernous' describes something vast like a cave, while 'cavorting' means playing or moving about in an exuberant way.