music

noun

mu·sic ˈmyü-zik

often attributive

: vocal, instrumental, or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody, or harmony

choral music

piano music

recorded music

: the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity

: a distinctive type or category of music

there is a music for everybody—

Eric Salzman

rock music

jazz music

classical music

: a musical accompaniment

a play set to music

: the score (see score entry 1 sense 6a) of a musical composition set down on paper

leafing through the music

: musical quality

the music of verse

the music of lovingly orchestrated words—

Saturday Review

: an agreeable sound : euphony

her voice was music to my ears

the music of a nightingale

Examples of music in a Sentence

This is one of my favorite pieces of music. performing music in front of an audience dancing to the music of a big band They are writing music for a new album. a song with music by George Gershwin and words by Ira Gershwin He is learning to read music. She studied music in college. See More

Recent Examples on the Web Gabai, 25, a resident of Yokneam, was working at the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on the day of the attack. —

NBC News, 23 Nov. 2023 The song was a huge hit for Ellis-Bextor, peaking at No. 2 on the U.K. music charts and becoming a worldwide top ten hit. —

Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 22 Nov. 2023 The four members had recently been working on solo music. —

Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 22 Nov. 2023 The Faroese are so enthusiastic about music that the islands, despite having a population of just 56,000, have a music school in the capital of Torshavn and a full symphony orchestra. —

Melissa Locker, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2023 Our music exports like Avicii, Swedish house Mafia, Alesso, Kygo etc. were in their prime time. —

Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2023 This alternated with a jangly violin solo strummed like a balalaika by concertmaster Jeff Thayer, interjected with woodwind and trombone laughing music. —

Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Nov. 2023 The employee get togethers saw music artists like Busta Rhymes, Lorde and Bastille featured as headline acts. —

Byorianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2023 Spotify’s decision to count functional content at 20% of the rate for music tracks is the culmination of nearly a year’s worth of bad press for rain sounds and the like. —

Elias Leight, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'music.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English musik, from Anglo-French musike, from Latin musica, from Greek mousikē any art presided over by the Muses, especially music, from feminine of mousikos of the Muses, from Mousa Muse

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Time Traveler

The first known use of music was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Music.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/music. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

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Kids Definition

music

noun

mu·sic ˈmyü-zik

: the art of producing pleasing or expressive combinations of tones especially with melody, rhythm, and usually harmony

: a musical composition set down on paper

bring your music

: sounds that have rhythm, harmony, and melody

: an agreeable sound

the music of a brook

Etymology

Middle English musik "music," from early French musike (same meaning), from Latin musica (same meaning), from Greek mousikē "any art under the control or guidance of the Muses," derived from Mousa "Muse" — related to museum see Word History at museum