opus
Americannoun
-
opuses,
plural
-
opera
plural
-
a musical composition.
-
one of the compositions of a composer, usually numbered according to the order of publication.
-
a literary work or composition, as a book: op.
Have you read her latest opus?
noun
-
an artistic composition, esp a musical work
-
(often capital) (usually followed by a number) a musical composition by a particular composer, generally catalogued in order of publication
Beethoven's opus 61 is his violin concerto
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of opus
1695–1705; < Latin: work, labor, a work
Explanation
An opus is a created work, usually musical in nature. The composer's greatest opus was inspired by the blooming of the spring flowers. While an opus is a piece of work, usually musical, the best way to remember it is to know that the preferred plural of opus is opera which everyone associates with music. You can also say opuses for the plural if you want, but how is that going to help you remember anything? A common usage of opus is with the term magnum opus which refers to one’s greatest work, musical or otherwise.
Vocabulary lists containing opus
100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Music - Middle School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Music - High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Blame it on Mozart, whose astonishing genius was already self-evident at age 5, when he wrote his first opus , and whose father Leopold controlled his life and career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Her original opus didn’t cry out for a makeover.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The orange blossom had already become the state flower in 1909, and, by 1967, a year after McPhee’s opus, the orange was the state fruit.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
In 1962, Macdonald published his magnum opus of cultural criticism, “Against the American Grain: Essays on the Effects of Mass Culture,” containing the most famous of his essays, “Masscult & Midcult.”
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
With his 1,228-page opus, Deathstorm, he has succeeded in a manner that should satisfy even his most critical and demanding fans.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
Fremantle, producer of the now-defunct Australian TV soap opera, has partnered with US-based RoseBerry Media for the project that will use AI to "scan decades of episodes" to help make short vertical videos.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
His background can only be termed motley—he was variously a medical student, an opera singer, a stage actor, a Champagne importer, a film actor and, finally, a motion-picture director.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Coronation Street star Ian Puleston-Davies is returning to the soap opera more than a decade after he left.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The story involves a lot of supernatural behavior, including shape-shifting, and director Lileana Blain-Cruz’s production builds a ghost world that, like the opera, retains its underlying humanity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
There was a moment’s pause as my tablemates stared at me, not mute, not brain-damaged, able to recall the name of an opera.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Two summers ago, the most overt commonality shared by Greta Gerwig’s and Christopher Nolan’s opuses was a release date pitting the predicted box office whales against each other.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2025
Still, there would be no “Sonata Pathétique” without Prince Lichnowsky’s purse strings, no Sistine Chapel without Pope Julius II, no bold young talents like Corbet making their worthy magnum opuses without someone footing the bill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
They riffed on revealing their career-defining opuses at this, the perfect moment, only to unleash … nothing.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2023
He’s also known for taking excessively dull subjects, like concrete and water, and writing fascinatingly about them in magnum opuses for The New Yorker.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 1, 2020
His opuses are in demand And are the final test By which all others fall or stand In this the mighty west!
From Hoosier Lyrics by Eugene Field
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
