active couple

noun

In set dances with more than one couple dancing, the couple doing the more complicated movement during any given portion of the dance. The role of active couple may pass from one couple to another. In many quadrilles, certain figures will have two active couples at any one time; in long set dances, quite often every other couple or every third couple is the active couple.

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Meanings

nounactive couple (plural active couples)

plural active couples

  1. In set dances with more than one couple dancing, the couple doing the more complicated movement during any given portion of the dance. The role of active couple may pass from one couple to another. In many quadrilles, certain figures will have two active couples at any one time; in long set dances, quite often every other couple or every third couple is the active couple.
Cite this entry
APA

active couple. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/active%20couple

MLA

“active couple.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/active%20couple. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “active couple,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/active%20couple.

Source: active couple on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.