Definition of piano
: at a soft volume : soft
—used as a direction in music
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Origin and Etymology of piano
Definition of piano
plural pianos
: a musical instrument having steel wire strings that sound when struck by felt-covered hammers operated from a keyboard
Examples of piano in a Sentence
Do you play the piano?
He takes piano lessons on Wednesdays.
Recent Examples of piano from the Web
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Picosa features musicians on flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano.
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The room is styled as a music room with a baby grand piano.
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With each kit, follow instructions displayed on the Switch to perform the sequence of pops, folds and slottings necessary to build a remote-control car, fishing rod, set of handlebars, a doll’s house or a mini-piano.
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Meet the Spirio, a self-playing concert piano that starts at $99,300.
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Every once and a while, a singer like Franklin will forgo the band and sing an original song while playing a guitar or a piano.
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Miyazaki’s visuals, which are always set to the dramatic piano and strings of Joe Hisaishi, are throat-grabbingly propulsive in a way that Takahata’s are not.
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The creations range from a cardboard motorcycle to a piano, and seem to be predominantly aimed at children aged 6-12.
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The Glen Gould / jazz stuff led me to the piano as an instrument that could tie it all together.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'piano.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
PIANO Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of piano for English Language Learners
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: a large musical instrument with a keyboard that you play by pressing black and white keys and that produces sound when small hammers inside the piano hit steel wires
PIANO Defined for Kids
Definition of piano for Students
plural pianos
: a keyboard instrument having steel wire strings that make a sound when struck by hammers covered with felt
History for piano
When a harpsichord is played, pressing on the keys causes the strings to be plucked in such a way that loudness and softness cannot be controlled. Around 1700 an Italian instrument maker named Bartolomeo Cristofori invented a mechanism by which the strings of a harpsichord would be struck by felt-covered hammers. This device allowed the performer to play notes with varying degrees of loudness. In Italian this new instrument was called gravicembalo col piano e forte, “harpsichord with soft and loud.” The name was borrowed into English as pianoforte or fortepiano, which was eventually shortened to just piano.
Learn More about piano
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See words that rhyme with piano Spanish Central: Translation of piano Nglish: Translation of piano for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of piano for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about piano
Seen and Heard
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