virtuoso

noun

vir·​tu·​o·​so ˌvər-chü-ˈō-(ˌ)sō 

-(ˌ)zō

plural virtuosos or virtuosi ˌvər-chü-ˈō-(ˌ)sē 

-(ˌ)zē

1

: one who excels in the technique of an art

Hailed far and wide as a virtuoso, perhaps the greatest glass artist of the 20th century …

—Jon Krakauer

especially : a highly skilled musical performer

a piano/violin virtuoso

a jazz virtuoso

But the heart of the program was Beethoven, the Quartet in E Minor, Opus 59, No. 2, "Razoumovsky." This is where the modern string quartet begins, quartets that became the property of virtuosos instead of amateurs …

—Ken Keaton

2

: a person who has exceptional skill, expertise, or talent at some endeavor

… instances in which young computer virtuosos occasionally cross the legal boundaries of remote computer systems.

—Scott Mace

Although hockey has been more team-oriented than any other major sport, through the years there have been virtuosos who packed the houses.

—Stan Fischler

3

: a person interested in the pursuit of knowledge in some specialized field and especially in the arts and sciences

[Samuel] Pepys was a characteristic product of his day, a virtuoso, a man sympathetic to every new trend in science and scholarship.

—William Matthews

4

: a person interested in or having a taste for the fine arts

In the eighteenth century, rich "virtuosos" like Richard Payne Knight and his friend Charles Townley assembled vast collections of everything from Roman sculpture to skewered beetles …

—Walter Kendrick

virtuoso adjective

a virtuoso cellist

virtuoso performances

Canto LXXX … provides a particularly virtuoso example of the poet's ear for dialects and languages.

—Richard Sieburth

Did you know?

English speakers borrowed the Italian noun virtuoso in the 1600s, but the Italian word had a former life as an adjective meaning both "virtuous" and "skilled." The first virtuosos (the English word can be pluralized as either virtuosos or, in the image of its Italian forbear, as virtuosi) were individuals of substantial knowledge and learning ("great wits," to quote one 17th-century clergyman). The word was then transferred to those skilled in the arts and to skilled musicians, specifically. In time, English speakers broadened virtuoso to apply to a person adept in any pursuit.

Synonyms

• ace
• adept
• artist
• authority
• cognoscente
• connoisseur
• crackerjack
• crackajack
• dab [chiefly British]
• dab hand [chiefly British]
• expert
• fiend
• geek
• guru
• hand
• hotshot
• maestro
• master
• maven
• mavin
• meister
• past master
• proficient
• scholar
• shark
• sharp
• whiz
• wizard

Examples of virtuoso in a Sentence

He's a real virtuoso in the kitchen.

Recent Examples on the Web

After sharing her story, Peoples got the chance to work through her fear with help from the 10-time Grammy award-winning virtuoso himself. —Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2024

At the helm of a cast filled with virtuosos of comic timing, Seinfeld draws performances that are, for the most part, understated, effectively heightening the ridiculousness of the setup by playing it straight. —Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from virtuoso, adjective, virtuous, skilled, from Late Latin virtuosus virtuous, from Latin virtus

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 3

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Kids Definition

virtuoso

noun

vir·​tu·​o·​so ˌvər-chə-ˈwō-sō 

-zō

plural virtuosos or virtuosi -sē 

-zē

: a person who excels in the performance of an art

especially : a skilled musician

virtuoso adjective