baritone

American  

[bar-i-tohn] / ˈbær ɪˌtoʊn /

Or barytone

noun

baritones plural

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.

---

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

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• baritonal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• baritones
  plural

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

See Examples For:

baritone baritones

Platner’s baritone voice, working-man aesthetic, and rough-around-the-edges vibe seemed to be as much part of his appeal as any of his policy positions and his undeniable charisma.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

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

As the Court Poet, baritone Brian Major enlists the Stranger into the storytelling—their eerie duet as the voice of the evil fairy Carabosse is a striking musical moment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

“The Thunder” I attribute to a strong baritone and a great deal of stage training at an early age.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

“Dollar now” is a popular filler word, especially among livestock auctioneers, who are generally baritones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

But the Ames Brothers — Ed, Joe, Gene and Vic — had a unique tone: they were basses and baritones, not tenors.

From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2023

That means Matticks only lost a few drum sets, a piano, a keyboard, several guitars and a couple baritones along with the music materials.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 28, 2018

We were Mormons and Baptists, Protestants who knew the Anglican hymns, Catholics who could translate the Latin, closeted baritones who were planning careers in music or the church or both.

From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2016

She stocks up on new CDs, and now, instead of old Bengali voices singing Rabindranath Tagore songs, the baritones of musicians like Toby Keith and Trace Adkins fill our apartment.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

Related Words

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