Charles·ton (also charles·ton) • n. a lively dance of the 1920s that involved turning the knees inward and kicking out the lower legs.• v. [intr.] dance the Charleston.

Charleston. A fast fox-trot named after Charleston, S. Carolina, popularized in NY, 1922, in Negro revues, in a song by Cecil Mack and Jimmy Johnson; it then had a short but widespread vogue in ballrooms and dance-halls. The dance-step was characterized by 2 twists on each foot, with one kicked sharply backwards, and swinging of the arms.