basso
noun
a person who sings bass; a bass.
basso
1 American
[bas-oh, bah-soh, bahs-saw]
/ ˈbæs oʊ, ˈbɑ soʊ, ˈbɑs sɔ /
noun
Music.
bassos,
plural
bassi
plural
Basso
2
American
[bas-oh]
/ ˈbæs oʊ /
noun
basso
British
/ ˈbæsəʊ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of basso
1810–20; < Italian < Late Latin bassus. See base 2
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.
See Examples For:
Ms. Salvant’s 2023 release, “Mélusine,” included songs that dated back to the 12th century, sung in four languages, and made prominent use of the theorbo, the plucked lute used for Baroque basso continuo accompaniment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
But the payoff for me came when he demonstrated the station’s rare 1934 diaphone fog signal, which sounds off with two descending blasts, basso profundo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
There’s a flicker of ironic recognition in the old man yet, for Shakespeare’s verse still flows elegantly out of Page’s basso instrument.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2023
Exaggerating some of the singer’s vocal qualities — the basso burr and steel-wool growls — he instead adds value while suggesting character.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
Bull had mostly listened that first day as this stricken, energetic man paced the sitting room of his rectory speaking with a mellifluous basso profundo voice that demanded and received unwavering attention.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Most affected children die in their teenage years from heart complications, though some, like Sammy Basso -- the oldest known person with Progeria -- live longer.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2025
The neighborhood has a winding lane devoted to pasta called Arco Basso, also known as Orecchiette Street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
“It’s not that you’re not welcome,” says solo designer Billy Basso.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2024
The nuptials, which featured a performance by John Legend, were a black-and-white affair, to which Union wore a strapless Dennis Basso gown from Kleinfeld Bridal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2023
Ludwig von Hohnel, who discovered the large Basso Norok, now known as Lake Rudolf, till then only vaguely indicated on the map as Samburu.
From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg
Redditus Liberi.—Those quit rents which were paid to the lord by "liberi tenentes," freeholders; as distinguished from "villani bassi tenentes," &c.
From Notes and Queries, Number 195, July 23, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc by Bell, George
Most of the bassi rilievi, and nearly all the characteristic features of architecture in the various monuments at Athens, have been moulded, and the moulds of them brought to London.
From Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects, and Curiosities of Art, (Vol. 2 of 3) by Spooner, Shearjashub
Oriental shells are made at Rome into beautiful cameos, by the white outer surface being cut away upon the deeper coloured internal part, forming figures in minute bassi relievi.
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 10, No. 289, December 22, 1827 by Various
Lord Elgin's first attempt was to have the statues and bassi rilievi restored; and in that view he went to Rome to consult and to employ Canova.
From Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects, and Curiosities of Art, (Vol. 2 of 3) by Spooner, Shearjashub
Besides the sculptured bassi relievi, these stones bear hieroglyphics painted with a kind of red varnish which remains unimpaired.
From Ancient America, in Notes on American Archaeology by Baldwin, John D. (John Denison)
Yet the Metropolitan is exceptionally well provided with good bassos.
From Time Magazine Archive
But big, forceful bassos are much more common than slender, graceful tenors.
From Time Magazine Archive
A boon to bathtub bassos of willing voice and weak memory: the complete librettos, with piano arrangements, of eleven of the best G & S operettas.
From Time Magazine Archive
An old woman tricks him out of his faithful cow, burlesqued by two bassos who lyricize fore & aft.
From Time Magazine Archive
The soprani tenors, bassos, attack the allegro furioso with cries of rage, and of a dramatic 6/8 time they make it 6/8 quadrille time.
From A Winter Amid the Ice and Other Thrilling Stories by Verne, Jules
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.
