melody
1 Americannoun
plural
melodies-
musical sounds in agreeable succession or arrangement.
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Music.
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the succession of single tones in musical compositions, as distinguished from harmony and rhythm.
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the principal part in a harmonic composition; the air.
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a rhythmical succession of single tones producing a distinct musical phrase or idea.
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a poem suitable for singing.
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intonation, as of a segment of connected speech.
noun
noun
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music
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a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; tune
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the horizontally represented aspect of the structure of a piece of music Compare harmony
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sounds that are pleasant because of tone or arrangement, esp words of poetry
Related Words
See harmony.
Other Word Forms
- melodyless adjective
- undermelody noun
Etymology
Origin of melody
1250–1300; Middle English melodie from Medieval Latin melōdia from Greek melōidía “(choral) singing,” equivalent to mel- ( melic ) + -ōid- ( ode ) + -ia -y 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As she answered his questions, the “small, magnetic … negligently dressed” former celebrity paced the room, buried her face in her hands, and played “fitful floods of wild and incoherent melody” on a piano.
From Literature
Memorising the choreography without being able to rely on variations in the music -- whose melody and rhythmic pattern hardly changes -- is another challenge.
From Barron's
The Agnus Dei begins in glum realization that there may be no compensation for humanity’s great sins when, again astonishingly without expectation, one of Beethoven’s uniquely wondrous melodies takes over.
From Los Angeles Times
“It all just sort of poured out of me. The melody and the lyrics fit perfectly to Bryce’s score.”
From Los Angeles Times
What makes the album a timeless classic are its catchy melodies; shrewd arrangements that caught the culture’s disco obsession; and Mr. Scaggs’s earthy, confessional lyrics and intimate voice.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
