baritone

American  

[bar-i-tohn] / ˈbær ɪˌtoʊn /

Or barytone

noun

1. a male voice or voice part intermediate between tenor and bass.

2. a singer with such a voice.

3. a large, valved brass instrument shaped like a trumpet or coiled in oval form, used especially in military bands.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a baritone; having the compass of a baritone.

baritone British  

/ ˈbærɪˌtəʊn /

noun

1. the second lowest adult male voice, having a range approximately from G an eleventh below middle C to F a fourth above it

2. a singer with such a voice

3. the second lowest instrument in the families of the saxophone, horn, oboe, etc

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adjective

1. relating to or denoting a baritone

   a baritone part

2. denoting the second lowest instrument in a family

   the baritone horn

baritone Cultural  

1. A range of the male singing voice higher than bass and lower than tenor.

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Other Word Forms

• baritonal
  adjective

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."

Example Sentences

“When you go back and watch the original, you’re like, ‘Oh, this isn’t particularly good,’” says Goldhaber in a deep baritone with a quiet, steady confidence.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

Last year, he starred in the streamer’s comedy The Four Seasons, co-created by Tina Fey, and lent his rich baritone to characters including the Cowardly Lion in Wicked: For Good.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 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

Other recent sets accomplish similar goals, among them ones documenting the careers of the violinist Itzhak Perlman, the pianist Martha Argerich and the baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau—all from Warner Classics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

Then Charlie’s baritone and Glenn’s bass, working the same territory.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• dark
• extreme
• great
• hard
• profound
• rich
• strong
• vivid