crooner

American  

[kroo-ner] / ˈkru nər /

noun

• crooners
  plural

1. a popular singer who sings in an evenly modulated, slightly exaggerated manner.

   He was the kind of soulful, rockabilly-influenced crooner you might catch playing a place like the Liquor Lounge, and he reminded me of both Sinatra and Elvis.

2. someone who sings.

   In karaoke, even the least talented crooner has a chance to aim for that big moment in the spotlight.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• crooners
  plural

Etymology

Origin of crooner

croon ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

A crooner is a singer, especially a man who sings jazz standards. Frank Sinatra was a well-known crooner. The noun crooner describes a silky-voiced singer of sentimental jazz favorites, particularly a male singer. Crooners were especially popular from the late 1920s until the early 1950s. The increased use of microphones and radio broadcasting made it possible for crooners to sing softly and emotionally even when backed by a band. The rise of rock n roll helped bring the era of the crooner to an end. Crooner comes from the verb croon, "to sing softly and sadly."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crooner crooners

"I began playing music at 15," recalled Vivian Hansen, a former crooner at Park Street's Trincas restaurant.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026

For those who think of late-career Elvis Presley as only a plump has-been, a gaudy Las Vegas crooner slinging schlock in the 1970s, Baz Luhrmann’s new movie is a bracing corrective.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

The 82-year-old crooner, known for 1970s hits "Copacabana" and "Mandy," revealed a lung cancer diagnosis in December and planned to have an operation to treat it.

From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026

Carey, meanwhile, has generated 692 million streams — not too shabby, of course, but still not measuring up to the Canadian crooner.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 24, 2025

While he attended the races at Tanforan with Bing Crosby, the crooner found himself abandoned as fans and autograph-seekers smothered Howard.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Ms. Willetts devotes nearly an entire chapter—ostensibly on postwar nightlife in Las Vegas and Havana—to Frank Sinatra, head of America’s Rat Pack of lounge crooners and the “kingpin of ‘gentlemanly’ debauchery.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Springer added that he prefers classic crooners, such as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, to Bublé.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 24, 2025

If these songs existed when Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and all those crooners were alive, they would’ve beat down Will and Hue’s door to let them sing them first.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025

It's certainly hard to imagine them really catching on in the early 50s, an age dominated by schmaltzy crooners, folk purists and show tunes.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2024

The early years of crooners and ballads gave way to perky pop – epitomized by perhaps the greatest Eurovision song of all time, ABBA’s “Waterloo,” which won the contest 50 years ago.

From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024

Related Words

• artist
• diva
• musician
• soloist
• vocalist
• voice