virtuoso

noun

vir·​tu·​o·​so ˌvər-chü-ˈō-(ˌ)sō 

-(ˌ)zō

plural virtuosos or virtuosi ˌvər-chü-ˈō-(ˌ)sē 

-(ˌ)zē

1

: one who excels in the technique of an art

Hailed far and wide as a virtuoso, perhaps the greatest glass artist of the 20th century …

—Jon Krakauer

especially : a highly skilled musical performer

a piano/violin virtuoso

a jazz virtuoso

But the heart of the program was Beethoven, the Quartet in E Minor, Opus 59, No. 2, "Razoumovsky." This is where the modern string quartet begins, quartets that became the property of virtuosos instead of amateurs …

—Ken Keaton

2

: a person who has exceptional skill, expertise, or talent at some endeavor

… instances in which young computer virtuosos occasionally cross the legal boundaries of remote computer systems.

—Scott Mace

Although hockey has been more team-oriented than any other major sport, through the years there have been virtuosos who packed the houses.

—Stan Fischler

3

: a person interested in the pursuit of knowledge in some specialized field and especially in the arts and sciences

[Samuel] Pepys was a characteristic product of his day, a virtuoso, a man sympathetic to every new trend in science and scholarship.

—William Matthews

4

: a person interested in or having a taste for the fine arts

In the eighteenth century, rich "virtuosos" like Richard Payne Knight and his friend Charles Townley assembled vast collections of everything from Roman sculpture to skewered beetles …

—Walter Kendrick

virtuoso adjective

a virtuoso cellist

virtuoso performances

Canto LXXX … provides a particularly virtuoso example of the poet's ear for dialects and languages.

—Richard Sieburth

Did you know?

English speakers borrowed the Italian noun virtuoso in the 1600s, but the Italian word had a former life as an adjective meaning both "virtuous" and "skilled." The first virtuosos (the English word can be pluralized as either virtuosos or, in the image of its Italian forbear, as virtuosi) were individuals of substantial knowledge and learning ("great wits," to quote one 17th-century clergyman). The word was then transferred to those skilled in the arts and to skilled musicians, specifically. In time, English speakers broadened virtuoso to apply to a person adept in any pursuit.

Synonyms

• ace
• adept
• artist
• authority
• cognoscente
• connoisseur
• crackerjack
• crackajack
• dab [chiefly British]
• dab hand [chiefly British]
• expert
• fiend
• geek
• guru
• hand
• hotshot
• maestro
• master
• maven
• mavin
• meister
• past master
• proficient
• scholar
• shark
• sharp
• whiz
• wizard

Examples of virtuoso in a Sentence

He's a real virtuoso in the kitchen.

Recent Examples on the Web

On the evening of April 10, 1964 — that is, 60 years ago Wednesday — the Canadian virtuoso Glenn Gould stepped away from the piano at the end of his concert at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles and revolutionized the recording industry. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024

The vocal virtuoso has backed many artists including Gladys Knight, Sara Bareilles, Solange Knowles, Florence + The Machine and Imagine Dragons. —Bryan West, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024

After growing up in New Jersey, No, 33, spent the better part of the last decade as a harp-playing, folk-strumming songwriting virtuoso singing incisive originals in semi-obscurity. —Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2024

Trump has always delighted in belittling opponents—Lyin’ Ted, Liddle Marco, Crooked Hillary, Sleepy Joe—and Cheung, a former spokesman for the mixed-martial-arts franchise, Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a virtuoso at mimicking his boss, voicing all manner of innuendo and humiliating barbs. —Clare Malone, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Steelpan virtuoso Joy Lapps, who is of Antiguan and Barbudan descent, brings her own brand of Creole soul to Sunday’s lineup. —Helena Alonso Paisley, Miami Herald, 29 Jan. 2024

An astounding virtuoso, Flores agilely played runs and held brilliant high notes. —Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2024

The host, a virtuoso in the world of olives, takes us on a sensory journey. —Branded Content Contributor, Orange County Register, 8 Jan. 2024

The virtuoso Roman Mejia is ever the dashing hero, topping off pirouettes and twisting leaps with poses of flexed arms and fists. —Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from virtuoso, adjective, virtuous, skilled, from Late Latin virtuosus virtuous, from Latin virtus

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

virtuoso

noun

vir·​tu·​o·​so ˌvər-chə-ˈwō-sō 

-zō

plural virtuosos or virtuosi -sē 

-zē

: a person who excels in the performance of an art

especially : a skilled musician

virtuoso adjective