Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

sonata form

noun

Definition of sonata form 

: a musical form that consists basically of an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation and that is used especially for the first movement of a sonata

Examples of sonata form in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 In early 19th century Vienna, however, long, tuneful melodies weren’t easily adapted into four-movement sonata forms like symphonies or string quartets. — Christian Hertzog, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Inon Barnatan and Garrick Ohlsson deliver masterful performances of late Schubert music," 25 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of sonata form

1858, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about sonata form

Share sonata form

Statistics for sonata form

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for sonata form

The first known use of sonata form was in 1858

See more words from the same year

Comments on sonata form

What made you want to look up sonata form? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

perennial

living or existing for a long time

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Late Autumn 2018 Words of the Day Quiz

  • frosted-autumn-leaves
  • Which is a synonym of yahoo?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Syn City

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games