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A classical quintet is usually written for strings (usually two violins, two violas, and a cello) or woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn), but brass quintets (two trumpets, horn, trombone, and tuba) have also become popular in North America recently. In jazz, Miles Davis led two famous quintets. In pop music, the Miracles, the Temptations, and the Jackson 5 were immensely popular vocal quintets. In rock, one of the most common instrumental lineups has been a quintet consisting of two guitars, a bass, a keyboard, and drums; famous rock quintets have included the Grateful Dead and the Beach Boys.
Examples of quintet in a Sentence
David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2024
The latter, premiered by Coleman’s own Imani Winds in 2018, is a musical tribute to a quintet of Black women: Maya Angelou (whose book and poem inspired the piece), mathematician Katherine Johnson, tennis champion Serena Williams, Olympic boxer Claressa Shields and former first lady Michelle Obama.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024
In addition to flags, spacecraft parts, and poop, Apollo astronauts left behind a quintet of seismic stations on the moon’s surface.
—IEEE Spectrum, 14 Mar. 2024
But as a work of dramatic fiction, 3 Body Problem never makes a compelling enough argument for why its central quintet would be invested in this — and, thus, why the audience should be.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2024
No other team – including the Dodgers – can match that quintet.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
The mural, which was commissioned by a community outreach program, has a quintet of images in which a famous elder is inspiring a young person.
—Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Feb. 2024
What gives the opening section of the C-major quintet its peculiar vibrancy?
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2023
The quintet is solidly filled out by Atom Ellis on bass and Dave Medd on keyboards.
—Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quintet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
quintet from Italian quintetto, from quinto fifth, from Latin quintus; quintette from French, from Italian quintetto
1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near quintet
Cite this Entry
“Quintet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quintet. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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quintet
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on quintet
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about quintet
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