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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, ˈpyæn oʊ /

noun

plural

pianos

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, ˈpyɑ 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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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

There was a master plan, which was made by Renzo Piano.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 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

In a conversation with several journalists, including AFP, Huppert drew a parallel with Jelinek's work for the "The Blood Countess" and her novel "The Piano Teacher".

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

Piano Fingers reaches under his desk and pulls out some forms.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

Related Words

• grand piano
• instrument
• keyboard