audition

[aw-dish-uh n]

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noun

a trial hearing given to a singer, actor, or other performer to test suitability for employment, professional training or competition, etc.

a reading or other simplified rendering of a theatrical work, performed before a potential backer, producer, etc.

the act, sense, or power of hearing.

something that is heard.

verb (used with or without object)

to try or compete in an audition: to audition aspiring actors; to audition for the leading role.

Origin of audition

1590–1600; (< Middle French) < Latin audītiōn- (stem of audītiō hearing). See auditive, -ion

Related formsau·di·tion·er, nounre·au·di·tion, nounun·au·di·tioned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for audition

tryout, demo, trial, audience, reading, hearing

Examples from the Web for audition

Contemporary Examples of audition

My agent at the time sent that tape to SNL and then they asked me to come in for an audition.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness
Marlow Stern
January 7, 2015
I went into the audition as Fericito, the Venezuelan percussionist, and then I did a self-defense expert.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness
Marlow Stern
January 7, 2015
A few years back, Belle and Sebastian even penned a song, “Suicide Girl,” about a woman trying to audition to be one.
Masters of Alt Sex: SuicideGirls Hits Puberty and Wants to Invade Your TV Set
Marlow Stern
December 9, 2014
Alan just happened to be in New York auditioning people, and I got in the room to audition for the first time.
Michael C. Hall on Going Drag for ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ and Exorcising ‘Dexter’
Marlow Stern
December 4, 2014
She says her modeling agency landed her an audition, and she got the job.
Bill Cosby’s Long List of Accusers (So Far): 18 Alleged Sexual Assault Victims Between 1965-2004
Marlow Stern
November 24, 2014

Historical Examples of audition

Experiments lead me to believe that these are organs of audition.
The Dawn of Reason
James Weir
The science of audition and sound; that branch of physics which treats of their cause, nature, and phenomena.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
Audition is cognition of principles, conversant about all articulate sounds.
The Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha
Madhava Acharya
She was not a baby-farm after all, and the audition of these squalling nurslings vexed her.
Mr. Punch's Country Life
Various
If you're going to audition for the stars, cut down the volume!
Where I Wasn't Going
Walt Richmond

British Dictionary definitions for audition

audition

noun

a test at which a performer or musician is asked to demonstrate his ability for a particular role, etc

the act, sense, or power of hearing

verb

to judge by means of or be tested in an audition

Word Origin for audition

C16: from Latin audītiō a hearing, from audīre to hear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for audition

1590s, "power of hearing," from Middle French audicion "hearing (in a court of law)," from Latin auditionem (nominative auditio) "a hearing, listening to," noun of action from past participle stem of audire "hear" (see audience). Meaning "trial for a performer" first recorded 1881.

"to try out for a performance part," 1935, from audition (n.). Transitive sense by 1944. Related: Auditioned; auditioning.

audition in Medicine

audition

[ô-dĭsh′ən]

n.

The sense, ability, or power of hearing.