Jump To:

• aria
  aria

  noun

  an air or melody.
• Aria
  Aria

  noun

  a nymph, the mother of Miletus, by Apollo.
• -aria
  -aria

  a suffix occurring in scientific terms of Latin origin, especially in names of biological genera and groups.

aria

¹ American  

[ahr-ee-uh, air-ee-uh] / ˈɑr i ə, ˈɛər i ə /

noun

• arias
  plural

1. an air or melody.

2. an elaborate melody sung solo with accompaniment, as in an opera or oratorio.

---

Aria ² American  

[ahr-ee-uh, uh-rahy-uh] / ˈɑr i ə, əˈraɪ ə /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a nymph, the mother of Miletus, by Apollo.

---

-aria ³ American  

1. a suffix occurring in scientific terms of Latin origin, especially in names of biological genera and groups.

   filaria.

---

aria British  

/ ˈɑːrɪə /

noun

1. an elaborate accompanied song for solo voice from a cantata, opera, or oratorio See also da capo

---

aria Cultural  

1. A piece of music for one voice (or occasionally two voices) in an opera, oratorio, or cantata. In contrast with recitative singing, arias are melodious; in contrast with ordinary songs, arias are usually elaborate.

---

Discover More

Some composers, such as Richard Wagner, have felt that arias interrupt the action of opera too much and hence have written operas without them.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• arias
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aria¹

From Italian, dating back to 1735–45; see origin at air ¹

Origin of -aria³

< Latin: feminine singular or neuter plural of -ārius -ary

Explanation

An aria is an elaborate song written specifically for a solo voice. If you find yourself belting out "Che gelida manina" from La Boheme in the shower, you’ve just been performing an aria. The word aria comes from the Italian and means "air." The word is often used to describe songs from operas. Two famous ones include “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” — "Love is a rebellious bird" — and “O mio babbino caro” — "Oh my dear Papa!" It is sometimes used almost metaphorically to describe someone’s impressive solo performance of any type. Arias within opera, and classical music in general, are almost always accompanied by instrumental music, but there is only one voice.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aria Aria arias

Then there’s the slow, somber poignancy of Hawk’s final aria, in which he recognizes the impossibility of the relationship, and paves the way to betrayal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The song Sweet Transvestite has been described as the first big, glam-rock aria of the musical, and is the audience's introduction to Dr Frank-N-Furter.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026

By contrast, Tyson’s subsequent aria revealing his own old trauma is pat and unconvincing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026

Yvonne Russo’s documentary “Viva Verdi!” captures the vibrant life inside its walls, expressed in the aria “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” sung by soprano Ana María Martínez and composed by Nicholas Pike.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026

Marian, tall, slim, and elegant, with her assured stage presence, sang ten songs in German, an aria in Italian, and several spirituals in English.

From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman

In the meantime, Aria Krylova, who’s worked at Anima Mundi for several years, put out the store’s top cooling agents for me to try.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Iran midfielder Aria Yousefi flies into the air after going for the ball against New Zealand midfielder Joe Bell.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026

I finally scored a short ride from New York-New York Hotel & Casino to Aria Las Vegas on a Monday evening.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

"I genuinely believed he had supernatural powers," says Aria, which is not her real name.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

“Can I take a picture?” the hazmat named Aria says.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Mr. Redler’s score leans toward musical theater, with tuneful, rhythmic arias often built on strophic, deftly rhymed text as well as deep affinity with Maclean’s poetic diction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Renowned internationally, she had a busy concert schedule focused on art songs, choral music, opera arias and Negro spirituals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

He bestows on his characters arias, and Daniel’s cast delivers them as though the words were expressly made for these particular actors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Some arias are cut; Donna Elvira’s Act 2 “Mi tradì” replaces her Act 1 “Ah, fuggi il traditor,” and there is no moralizing epilogue after the Don goes to hell.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Everybody at Fullbrook seemed like a genius to me, already worldly, already honing their special skill, building robots, singing arias, starting their own tech company.

From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely