First recorded in 1795–1805; short for pianoforte
1675–85; < Italian: soft, low (of sounds), plain, flat < Latin plānus plain 1
A piano is a large musical instrument that you play by pressing black and white keys on a keyboard. Most people play a piano with their fingers, but Jerry Lee Lewis played with his fingers, feet, elbows, and, ahem, backside. A piano makes a sound when each key moves a small hammer that strikes a metal string. The inside of a piano looks kind of like a harp. Pianos are vital in many kinds of music, from classical to pop, and in the case of Lewis, boogie-woogie. Piano comes from the original Italian name for the instrument: piano e forte, "soft and loud." Piano is also the musical notation that tells the player that something should be played quietly.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Indeed, her 1964 signature hit "Downtown", which sold millions and earned her a Grammy award, had no lyrics when she first heard composer Tony Hatch playing it on the piano.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
On the nostalgic piano ballad “Good Morning,” he imagines what it might be like to settle down somewhere “with a dog and a wife.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
There had been times over the two years since her injury that lessons had been paused so that Freya could take a much-needed break to re-discover her love of the piano.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Countless karaoke nights and rainy drives have been scored to Tyler’s inimitable song, so much so that the opening piano notes of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” might precede Tyler’s substantial legacy.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Our schoolteachers taught us how to play piano.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Neill's acting career began in the 1970s and has spanned dozens of roles in TV and film, including "Peaky Blinders", "The Hunt for Red October", and "The Piano".
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar – One night, about 100 women from the Women in Auto Care conference I was attending descended on this place with zero warning — and the staff didn’t miss a beat.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2026
Dr Samantha Ege, pianist and music historian said Odeleye's performance in The Piano "shone a massive light on the Black women in classical music who came before her".
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
Equally peculiar was a performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto that served as transition from “Humboldt” to “Egmont.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
Piano lessons were a strain, knowing he was waiting for me outside First Methodist.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
At this point, Mr. Dessner’s instantly identifiable studio techniques—stately pianos, dry and uninflected recordings captured up close, rushing builds when a song lurches toward a climax—have become shopworn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Soon after, he began an apprenticeship in London with the composer Muzio Clementi that lasted 10 years and required that Field demonstrate pianos for his teacher’s side business as an instrument maker and retailer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
One got in touch to invite Jimmy to see one of Sinatra's old pianos.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
A cousin to self-playing player pianos, photoplayers automatically play music read out of perforated piano rolls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2025
Although Bach played on a few of Silbermann’s prototype pianos, he never expressed any great enthusiasm for them.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
