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• piano
  piano

  noun

  a musical instrument in which felt-covered hammers, operated from a keyboard, strike the metal strings.
• Piano
  Piano

  noun

  Renzo. born 1937, Italian architect; buildings include the Pompidou Centre, Paris (1977; with Richard Rogers), the Potsdamer Platz redevelopment, Berlin (1998), and The Shard, London (2012)

piano

¹ American  

[pee-an-oh, pyan-oh] / piˈæn oʊ, ˈpjæn oʊ /

noun

pianos plural

1. a musical instrument in which felt-covered hammers, operated from a keyboard, strike the metal strings.

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piano ² American  

[pee-ah-noh, pyah-naw] / piˈɑ noʊ, ˈpjɑ nɔ /

adjective

1. soft; subdued.

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adverb

1. softly. p, p.

piano ¹ British  

/ pɪˈænəʊ /

noun

1. a musical stringed instrument resembling a harp set in a vertical or horizontal frame, played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike the strings and produce audible vibrations See also grand piano upright piano

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Piano ² British  

/ pjˈɑno /

noun

1. Renzo. born 1937, Italian architect; buildings include the Pompidou Centre, Paris (1977; with Richard Rogers), the Potsdamer Platz redevelopment, Berlin (1998), and The Shard, London (2012)

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piano ³ British  

/ ˈpjɑːnəʊ /

adjective

1.  p.  music (to be performed) softly

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piano Cultural  

1. A musical direction meaning “to be performed softly”; the opposite of forte. As the name of a musical instrument, it is short for pianoforte.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pianos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of piano¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; short for pianoforte

Origin of piano²

1675–85; < Italian: soft, low (of sounds), plain, flat < Latin plānus plain ¹

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

You’re renowned for your work in intense films like “Till” and “The Piano Lesson.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

In 1993, Jane Campion became the first woman to receive a Palme d'Or for "The Piano".

From Barron's • May 22, 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

Major works like “Le Marteau sans Maître,” “Pli Selon Pli,” “. . . Explosante-Fixe. . . ” and the Second Piano Sonata are naturally included, but so are lesser-known pieces.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

Piano chords loll in the speaker of the wireless in the guard station, projecting rich blacks and complicated blues down the hall toward the key pound.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• grand piano
• instrument
• keyboard