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Synonyms

ambient music

American  

noun

  1. Also called ambient. a genre of instrumental music that focuses on sound patterns more than melodic form and is used to create a certain atmosphere or state of mind.

  2. background music.


Etymology

Origin of ambient music

First recorded in 1965–70


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.

See Examples For:

Helen becomes a stereo-speaker hobbyist and starts listening to the ambient music of Brian Eno, whom she learned of “from crossword puzzles.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

The eerie ambient music that drives “Obsession” — so artfully serrated and delicately mangled by Burwell — emerged from a counterintuitive creative nuance that AI could never capture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Calming classical-like or ambient music accompanies the images on the screen, all made to relax dogs.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026

Some shops were decorated with psychedelic art on the walls, beanbags laid out over the floor and ambient music playing; others were little more than just wooden table stalls in the middle of the street.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2024

It features atmospheric ambient music from Brian Eno and Julianna Barwick as well as ethereal jazz from Alice Coltrane and Amaro Freitas.

From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2024

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