string quartet

American  

noun

1. a musical composition, usually in three or four movements, for four stringed instruments, typically two violins, viola, and cello.

2. a first violinist, second violinist, violist, and cellist forming a group for the performance of string quartets and similar music.

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string quartet British  

noun

1. an instrumental ensemble consisting of two violins, one viola, and one cello

2. a piece of music written for such a group, usually having the form and commonest features of a sonata

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string quartet Cultural  

1. A musical group that includes two violins, a viola, and a cello. The term also refers to a composition written for these four instruments. Many composers, notably Franz Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven, have written string quartets.

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Etymology

Origin of string quartet

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

As if to compensate, on a drizzly Sunday evening in Kyiv, a crowd gathered in the street beneath an apartment building’s third-floor balcony to hear a makeshift string quartet play concertos.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

Rima Fand’s pleasant, folk-tinged score is illustrative rather than striking; the accompanying ensemble of mandolin, string quartet and bass, led from the piano by Mila Henry, plays a lot of ostinatos.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026

Brahms wasn’t the first to juice up the string quartet with a second violin.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

And yet, the anchors had been doing their best version of trying to play a string quartet as the Titanic sank.

From Slate • Apr. 9, 2025

There’s a string quartet on this track that makes my hair stand on end, and some of the melodies and harmonies are so rich, my eyes literally prickle with tears.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone