1
: a piece of music for the practice of a point of technique
2
: a composition built on a technical motive but played for its artistic value
Examples of étude in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the first etude, strings play on open strings, which creates a sense of harmonic healing by leaving nature well enough alone.
—
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Similarly, the survey of Glass’ etudes was made more varied by the different playing styles of the pianists, all of them excellent, with each bringing distinctive color and character to their pair.
—Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 July 2025
By that measure, the mostly instrumental The Bad Fire contains what feels like etudes on unhappiness, a perpetual sense of never really fitting in anywhere.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 27 Jan. 2025
Apparently, performing Musser’s etudes for marimba is a rite of passage for percussion majors.
—IEEE Spectrum, 1 Oct. 2023
But these songs are not so much referential as reverential: meditative daybreak etudes capable of conveying the feeling that all is right in the world.
—Pitchfork, 28 Sep. 2023
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Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Similarly, the survey of Glass’ etudes was made more varied by the different playing styles of the pianists, all of them excellent, with each bringing distinctive color and character to their pair.
—Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 July 2025
By that measure, the mostly instrumental The Bad Fire contains what feels like etudes on unhappiness, a perpetual sense of never really fitting in anywhere.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 27 Jan. 2025
Apparently, performing Musser’s etudes for marimba is a rite of passage for percussion majors.
—IEEE Spectrum, 1 Oct. 2023
But these songs are not so much referential as reverential: meditative daybreak etudes capable of conveying the feeling that all is right in the world.
—Pitchfork, 28 Sep. 2023
Cite this Entry
“étude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/%C3%A9tude. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
étude
noun
: a piece of music for practice
Etymology
from French étude, literally, "study"
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