concert

[noun, adjective kon-surt, -sert; verb kuh n-surt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR concert ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a public musical performance in which a number of singers or instrumentalists, or both, participate.

a public performance, usually by an individual singer, instrumentalist, or the like; recital: The violinist has given concerts all over the world.

agreement of two or more individuals in a design or plan; combined action; accord or harmony: His plan was greeted with a concert of abuse.

adjective

designed or intended for concerts: concert hall.

performed at concerts: concert music.

performing or capable of performing at concerts: a concert pianist.

verb (used with object)

to contrive or arrange by agreement: They were able to concert a settlement of their differences.

to plan; devise: A program of action was concerted at the meeting.

verb (used without object)

to plan or act together.

Idioms

in concert, together; jointly: to act in concert.

Origin of concert

1595–1605; (noun) < French < Italian concerto; see concerto; (v.) < French concerter < Italian concertare to organize, arrange by mutual agreement, perhaps parasynthetically from con with + certo certain; Latin concertāre (see concertation) is remote in sense

Related formspost·con·cert, adjective

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

Related Words for concert

gig, musical, recital, show, tune, unison, league, accord, consonance, concord, union, collaboration, unanimity, concordance, chorus, joint, togetherness, musicale

Examples from the Web for concert

Contemporary Examples of concert

But Cocker proved to be a survivor, bringing his passionate persona to concert halls around the world decade after decade.
The Greatest Rock Voice of All Time Belonged to Joe Cocker
Ted Gioia
December 23, 2014
But Winter is dead, Clapton is tired of life on the road, and King unreliable in concert.
The Best Albums of 2014
Ted Gioia
December 13, 2014
She died in 1978—just before Pryor recorded Live in Concert.
How Richard Pryor Beat Bill Cosby and Transformed America
David Yaffe, Scott Saul
December 10, 2014
Later, she said he invited her to see The Temptations in concert and check out his Vegas stand-up show.
Two New Bill Cosby Accusers Come Forward: ‘We Challenge Mr. Cosby to End This Nightmare’
Marlow Stern
December 3, 2014
TMZ reported that the five concert venues had cancelled Cosby performances for early 2015.
How the World Turned on Bill Cosby: A Day-by-Day Account
Scott Porch
December 1, 2014

Historical Examples of concert

After coffee we were ushered into the drawing-room, and listened to a concert.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
It was simply a concert of howling monkeys that had so terrified me!
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
The only mitigating feature of the business was that the matter to be reported was only a concert.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
And it would not do to let them have a wrong impression about the concert.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
He could imagine the talk there would be in Ballyards about his criticism of the concert.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine

British Dictionary definitions for concert

concert

noun (ˈkɒnsɜːt, -sət)

a performance of music by players or singers that does not involve theatrical stagingCompare recital (def. 1)
(as modifier)a concert version of an opera

agreement in design, plan, or action

in concert

acting in a co-ordinated fashion with a common purpose
(of musicians, esp rock musicians) performing live

verb (kənˈsɜːt)

to arrange or contrive (a plan) by mutual agreement

Word Origin for concert

C16: from French concerter to bring into agreement, from Italian concertare, from Late Latin concertāre to work together, from Latin: to dispute, debate, from certāre to contend

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 concert

1660s, "agreement, accord, harmony," from French concert (16c.), from Italian concerto "concert, harmony," from concertare "bring into agreement," in Latin "to contend, contest, dispute," from com- "with" (see com-) + certare "to contend, strive," frequentative of certus, variant past participle of cernere "separate, decide" (see crisis).

Before the word entered English, meaning shifted from "to strive against" to "to strive alongside." Sense of "public musical performance" is 1680s. But Klein considers this too much of a stretch and suggests Latin concentare "to sing together" (from con- + cantare "to sing") as the source of the Italian word in the musical sense.