singsong
Americannoun
-
an accent, metre, or intonation that is characterized by an alternately rising and falling rhythm, as in a person's voice, piece of verse, etc
-
an informal session of singing, esp of popular or traditional songs
adjective
Etymology
Origin of singsong
Explanation
Anything that's singsong has a musical sound. Kindergarten teachers are generally good at saying things like, "Everybody put your coats on for recess," in a singsong voice. A child will fall asleep easily listening to his dad's singsong reading of a bedtime story; and the singsong call of her master will catch a dog's attention at the dog park. Singsong means just what it sounds like, a rhythmic, chanting kind of almost-singing. In some parts of the world, it's also the same as a singalong, or group song. An earlier meaning, from the 17th century, was "a jingling ballad."
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.
Singsong rhyme and meter are out; free verse and wistfulness are in.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Singsong, merry-go-round, Here we go off to the moon-oh.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was Sunday afternoon, and the band of students who call themselves "The Chinese High School Singsong and Harmonica Corps" were practicing in a second-floor club in one of the busy sections of Singapore.
From Time Magazine Archive
Why, I'd back Barney Crump at our Singsong to lick 'em two times out o' twice!
From Musa Pedestris - Three Centuries of Canting Songs and Slang Rhymes [1536 - 1896] by Farmer, John Stephen
Singsong, sing′song, n. bad singing: drawling: a convivial meeting where every one must sing.—adj. monotonously rhythmical, drawling.—v.t. and v.i. to make songs: to chant monotonously.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
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.
