Meanings
- uncountableThe act of jumping between the balconies of two hotel rooms; especially of tourists in Spain.
1 more example
Drunken revellers planning to over-indulge in Magaluf this summer face fines of up to €3,000 for urinating, being naked in the street or “balconing”, the craze of jumping from hotel balconies. New rules which come into force next week are part of a clampdown on the type of behaviour that has led to the Spanish resort being associated with debauchery tourism.
2015 June 5, Hugh Morris, “Magaluf to fine tourists who get naked in the street: The Spanish resort is clamping down on anti-social behaviour to clean up its image”, in The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 23 Jun 2015 - uncountableThe act of jumping from a balcony towards a swimming pool.
The legislation also seeks to outlaw “balconing”, the practice of jumping into a swimming pool from a hotel balcony that kills several people each year. In future, hotels will have to evict anyone practising balconing or encouraging others to do so.
2020 January 17, Stephen Burgen, “Balearic islands pass bill targeting boozy Brits abroad”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 20 Mar 20201 more example
A man in his 20s has died in a fall from his hotel room balcony in the resort of Magaluf, Majorca. The young man fell through the cracks of a balcony in the early hours of Monday while allegedly practising what is known as “balconing” – which involves jumping from balcony to balcony, or into a pool from a balcony.
2013 September 2, “Man dies ‘balconing’ at Majorca hotel”, in Sky News, archived from the original on 04 Nov 2014
Origin
- Spanishbalconing
- Englishbalconing
Borrowed from Spanish balconing, a pseudo-anglicism derived from Spanish balcón (“balcony”, noun) + -ing (suffix). This pseudo-anglicism was coined in Spain as a result of many drunk British tourists dying or seriously injuring themselves by attempting this stunt, thus featuring in many media headlines. See the Wikipedia article for more information.
More words from Spanish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Spanish balconismo, balconing
- balconismojumping between the balconies of two hotel rooms
- balconingjumping between the balconies of two hotel rooms
- balconismojumping from a balcony towards a swimming pool
- balconingjumping from a balcony towards a swimming pool
Cite this entry
balconing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balconing
“balconing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balconing. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “balconing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balconing.
Source: balconing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.