melody

noun

mel·o·dy | \ ˈme-lə-dē

plural melodies

Definition of melody

1 : a sweet or agreeable succession or arrangement of sounds whilst all the winds with melody are ringing— P. B. Shelley

2 : a rhythmic succession of single tones organized as an aesthetic whole a hummable melody the piper's fingers play the melody on a pipe called a chanter— Pat Cahill

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Examples of melody in a Sentence

He wrote a piece that includes some beautiful melodies. a composer known for his love of melody He sang a few old-fashioned melodies.

Recent Examples on the Web

Those poor RallyBacks have to find a way to pump up the crowd before first pitch to this slow-paced melody. — Richard Morin, azcentral, "The best and worst walk-up songs used by Arizona Diamondbacks players," 7 June 2019 Loyal critics proclaimed it a triumph—from its opening stately melody on the cellos, the searing funeral march, the frenetic, disorienting scherzo, through to the final reiteration of the heroic theme on the brass. — National Geographic, "How Beethoven went from Napoleon’s biggest fan to his worst critic," 24 Apr. 2019 The museum caption says that the page is taken from a manuscript on music, and that the painting evokes the mood of a melody. — Sharmila Mukherjee, The Seattle Times, "SAM’s ‘Peacock in the Desert’ opens the doors of our perception to the marvelous," 2 Jan. 2019 Yet amid the fractures and complexities, Mr. Longstreth also provides nuggets of approachable melody. — New York Times, "Dirty Projectors Find Love in Dystopian Times on ‘Lamp Lit Prose’," 11 July 2018 That’s her appeal: a certain unpolished candor that, packaged into an album with a strong sense of melody, becomes intensely relatable. — Raisa Bruner, Time, "Best Albums of 2018 So Far," 1 June 2018 Like in the previous version, a cool and fading steel guitar compliments the rhythmic melody and calming percussion. — Fox News, "Stevie Nicks and LeAnn Rimes share heartbreak in 'Borrowed' duet," 16 July 2018 The musician is a master at matters of the heart, crooning about the euphoria of new romance backed up with her ethereal melodies and punctuated with beats that will get any listener on their feet grooving. — Gabe Bergado, Teen Vogue, "LÉON's Dreamy Ballads and Bright Bops Will Give You All the Feels," 26 Apr. 2019 Writing vocal hooks, especially melodies for all my songs, is my favorite thing to do. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Sigrid Plans to Be Around for a Long Time," 11 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'melody.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.