music

noun, often attributive

mu·sic | \ ˈmyü-zik

Definition of music

1a : 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

b : vocal, instrumental, or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody, or harmony choral music piano music recorded music

2a : an agreeable sound : euphony her voice was music to my ears the music of a nightingale

b : musical quality the music of verse the music of lovingly orchestrated words — Saturday Review

3 : a musical accompaniment a play set to music

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

5 : a distinctive type or category of music there is a music for everybody— Eric Salzman rock music jazz music classical music

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the music video for the song, metallic gunmetal and asphalt pigments were blended all over his lids. — Devon Abelman, Allure, "Why Taemin Won't Apologize For His Androgynous Aesthetic Anymore," 15 Mar. 2019 As a young woman who had to reconcile her deep love for hip hop culture with the misogyny present in music videos and rap songs, Baby Phat meant so much more to me. — Jessica Andrews, Teen Vogue, "The Best Baby Phat Fashion Moments of All Time, Ahead of the Relaunch," 13 Mar. 2019 But their road to happiness took a lot of patience (and multiple music videos) to come together. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "John Legend and Chrissy Teigen's Love Story Will Make You Ugly Cry," 6 Mar. 2019 About 20 years ago, Walmart unveiled its own in-store television network that showed product ads, movie trailers and music videos. — Matthew Boyle, The Seattle Times, "Amazon has a big advertising business. Walmart wants one too," 19 Feb. 2019 The attorneys said one of the men was a personal trainer hired to help Mr. Smollett get ready for a music video. — Douglas Belkin, WSJ, "Chicago Police Investigating Whether Smollett Coordinated Alleged Attack," 17 Feb. 2019 The commercialization of YouTube has resulted in a greater reliance on ad-friendly content like music videos and super-professional squeaky clean creators who will play ball with YouTube. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, "The internet is a monoculture built on ads and Drake," 20 Dec. 2018 On that note, earbuds can also provide some comfort in the form of music or voices. — Colleen Stinchcombe, SELF, "10 Campers Share How They Get a Good Night's Sleep in the Wilderness," 4 Nov. 2018 Next up on the possible obstacles for sober vacations is of course, the airport (insert JAWS music for full effect). — Carly Benson, SELF, "7 Important Tips for Traveling While Sober and Having an Even Better Time," 14 Feb. 2019

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

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More Definitions for music

music

noun

English Language Learners Definition of music

: sounds that are sung by voices or played on musical instruments

: written or printed symbols showing how music should be played or sung

: the art or skill of creating or performing music

See the full definition for music in the English Language Learners Dictionary

music

noun

mu·sic | \ ˈmyü-zik

Kids Definition of music

1 : an arrangement of sounds having melody, rhythm and usually harmony classical music

2 : the art of producing pleasing or expressive combinations of tones especially with melody, rhythm, and usually harmony I want to study music in college.

3 : a musical composition set down on paper Bring your music.

4 : a pleasing sound Your voice is music to my ears.