pianist
Americannoun
-
pianists
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pianist
1830–40; < French pianiste < Italian pianista. See piano 1, -ist
Explanation
If you play the piano, you are a pianist. The word most often describes a professional piano player, like a pianist in the symphony. A pianist might work playing jazz standards in a restaurant or performing solo shows on stages all over the world. A local pianist might make some extra money by giving piano lessons to kids, tuning pianos, or serving as a substitute music teacher. The French source of the word pianist is pianiste, which comes from the Italian piano e forte, "soft and loud."
Vocabulary lists containing pianist
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:
"And here's a wonderful pianist, Pavel Kushnir," says Dmitry Miratov.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The title of “Eternal Dreamer,” a moody, drone-based offering, evokes that of “Dream Weaver,” a 1966 album by his landmark quartet with pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Jack DeJohnette.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Self-taught pianist Belorgey, who was born in Seine-Saint-Denis - just outside of the city of Paris - launched his career in the early 2000s, opening for French electro pioneers Daft Punk.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Neill plays the awkward, ignorant Scottish farmer who arranges for a mail-order marriage with Holly Hunter’s mute pianist and then becomes possessive and driven to jealous despair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
“The pianist? I know her by sight. I’ve heard her play.”
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
The international performers who have become part of the “Stamptown” universe run the gamut from jugglers to steel drum players to acrobats to pianists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
As part of their studies, they researched other single-handed pianists - such as Nicholas McCarthy and Leon Fleisher - who had made successful careers.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
There are many ways to help the sight impaired read the printed word, but pianists and others need to read music at the piano.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Now, a major scientific study has provided some of the clearest evidence yet that pianists really can shape a piano's timbre through touch alone.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026
The pentatonic aspect of Debussy’s piano music provided much inspirational fuel for later generations of jazz pianists.
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.
