musicianship

American

[myoo-zish-uhn-ship] / myuˈzɪʃ ənˌʃɪp /

noun

knowledge, skill, and artistic sensitivity in performing music.

musicianship British

/ mjuːˈzɪʃənʃɪp /

noun

skill or artistry in performing music

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of musicianship

First recorded in 1865–70; musician + -ship

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.

The singer reflects on his journey from child star to R&B innovator, the success of ‘Mutt’ and why the art of live musicianship is necessary in the age of AI.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

"The human part of him, leadership, musicianship, fatherhood, that was the epitome of who he was."

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

But a startling number of pieces—symphonies, sonatas, madrigals, sonnets, even ambitious operas—were composed to the highest standards of professional musicianship.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

The final section of this course does include a few challenges that are generally not considered "beginner level" musicianship, but are very useful in just about every field and genre of music.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023