baritone
Americannoun
-
a male voice or voice part intermediate between tenor and bass.
-
a singer with such a voice.
-
a large, valved brass instrument shaped like a trumpet or coiled in oval form, used especially in military bands.
adjective
noun
-
the second lowest adult male voice, having a range approximately from G an eleventh below middle C to F a fourth above it
-
a singer with such a voice
-
the second lowest instrument in the families of the saxophone, horn, oboe, etc
adjective
-
relating to or denoting a baritone
a baritone part
-
denoting the second lowest instrument in a family
the baritone horn
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of baritone
1600–10; < Italian baritono low voice < Greek barýtonos deep-sounding. See barytone
Explanation
A baritone is a singer with a deep, rich voice. The male star of an opera is usually a baritone. You can use the word baritone to mean the singer himself, or as an adjective to describe his voice. A baritone singing voice is the most common one for a man, falling in between the higher tenor and lower bass registers. Baritone comes from the Italian baritono, with its Greek root word barytonos, "deep-voiced," combining barys, "heavy or deep" and tonos, "tone."
Vocabulary lists containing baritone
Blood on the River
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Musical Instruments - Introductory
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Musical Instruments - Middle School
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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.
Under the blazing Vegas sun, giant billboards advertise "Live Enhanced" as the baritone voice of a sports announcer pretends to introduce British swimmer Ben Proud and other athletes.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
Entertaining down to the last minute, the Bastille Opera finally opened its season with a sad-faced functionary who stepped in front of the curtain to tell us that the “Simone Boccanegra” baritone was indisposed.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
The baritone, Vincent Casagrande, a marvelously cantankerous Prisoner, tells us only sick people dream, and of course everyone on stage automatically enters a dream state.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
Swenson, who starred in the Broadway premiere of “A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond Musical,” has a lush baritone.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026
He started in a strong, rich baritone voice.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
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.
