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Definition of 'soprano'

Word Frequency

soprano

(səprɑːnoʊ , -præn-)
Word forms: plural sopranos
1. countable noun
A soprano is a woman, girl, or boy with a high singing voice.
She was the main soprano at the Bolshoi theatre.
...a pretty girl with a sweet soprano voice.
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
A soprano saxophone or other musical instrument has a range of notes of high pitch.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency

soprano in British

(səˈprɑːnəʊ ) or sopranist (səˈprɑːnɪst)
nounWord forms: plural -pranos or -prani (-ˈprɑːniː)
1. 
the highest adult female voice, having a range approximately from middle C to the A a thirteenth above it
2. 
the voice of a young boy before puberty
3. 
a singer with such a voice
4. 
the highest part of a piece of harmony
5. 
a. 
the highest or second highest instrument in a family of instruments
b. 
(as modifier)
a soprano saxophone
See also treble
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin of 'soprano'
C18: from Italian, from sopra above, from Latin suprā
Word Frequency

soprano in American

(səˈprænoʊ ; səpranˈō; səˈprɑnoʊ ; səpräˈnō)
nounWord forms: plural soˈpranos or soˈprani (səˈprɑni ; səpräˈnē)
1. 
the range of the highest voice of women or boys, usually from middle C to two or more octaves above
2. 
a. 
a voice or singer with such a range
b. 
an instrument with a similar range within its family, as a soprano recorder
c. 
a part for such a voice or instrument
3. 
in four-part harmony, the highest part
adjective
4. 
of, for, or having the range of a soprano
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin of 'soprano'
It < sopra, above < L supra

Example sentences containing 'soprano'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
Is there a more beautiful soprano voice in opera today? Times, Sunday Times (2008)Her soprano voice was in pretty fine fettle. Times, Sunday Times (2009)Her lyric soprano was both bright and deep in tone. Susie Gilbert and Jay Shir A TALE OF FOUR HOUSES: Opera at Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna and the Met since 1945 (2003)Has the part put too much strain on her essentially lyric soprano? Times, Sunday Times (2007)We lyric sopranos have special problems. Susie Gilbert and Jay Shir A TALE OF FOUR HOUSES: Opera at Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna and the Met since 1945 (2003)She was not only visually artistic, but also had a fine soprano voice. Times, Sunday Times (2009)Her shrill soprano voice can put you off at first, but give it time. Christianity Today (2000)Her voice was that rarity, a dramatic coloratura soprano. Times, Sunday Times (2010)Her change to the dramatic soprano rep is on the whole a success, although she pushed for her top notes. Times, Sunday Times (2010)A singer transforming her voice from soprano to mezzo-soprano is no longer necessarily the prima donna. Times, Sunday Times (2013)Her robust lyric soprano, allied to striking good looks, should make her a godsend in this repertoire. Times, Sunday Times (2007)The soprano voice still packs a steady punch; her sense of the dramatic can make the Wigmore fixtures quake. Times, Sunday Times (2007)The grief was intense, was really sharp, but the joy was like a high soprano voice rising above the choir. Times, Sunday Times (2007)His mother, who had a good soprano voice and a love of light opera, was employed in a factory that made artificial flowers. Times, Sunday Times (2010)It wasn't just that she was trained as a soprano when her voice was a mezzo - which led to a very public hiatus in her career. Times, Sunday Times (2007)

Trends of 'soprano'

Used Occasionally. soprano is one of the 30000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary

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Translations for 'soprano'

British English: soprano /səˈprɑːnəʊ/ NOUN
A soprano is a woman, girl, or boy with a high singing voice.
She was the main soprano at the theatre.
  • American English: soprano
  • Arabic: صَوْتُ السُّوبْرَانُو
  • Brazilian Portuguese: soprano
  • Chinese: 女高音
  • Croatian: sopran
  • Czech: soprán
  • Danish: sopran
  • Dutch: sopraan
  • European Spanish: soprano
  • Finnish: sopraano
  • French: soprano
  • German: Sopran
  • Greek: σοπράνο
  • Italian: soprano
  • Japanese: ソプラノ
  • Korean: 소프라노
  • Norwegian: sopran
  • Polish: sopran
  • European Portuguese: soprano
  • Romanian: sopran
  • Russian: сопрано
  • Spanish: soprano
  • Swedish: sopran
  • Thai: นักร้องหญิงที่ร้องเสียงสูงสุด
  • Turkish: soprano
  • Ukrainian: сопрано
  • Vietnamese: giọng nữ cao

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Nearby words of 'soprano'

  • soprani
  • sopranino
  • sopranist
  • soprano
  • soprano clef
  • Sopwith
  • sora

  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'S'

Related Terms of 'soprano'

  • boy soprano
  • mezzo-soprano
  • soprano clef
  • coloratura soprano
  • coloratura soprano

  • View more related words

Source

Definition of soprano from the Collins English Dictionary

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Scrabble score for 'soprano': 9
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