duet
Americannoun
noun
-
Also called (esp for instrumental compositions): duo. a musical composition for two performers or voices
-
an action or activity performed by a pair of closely connected individuals
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of duet
1730–40; earlier duett < Italian duetto, equivalent to du ( o ) duet + -etto -et
Compare meaning
How does duet compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A duet is two people singing or playing musical instruments together. You and your brother might be a popular sidewalk duet with your fiddle-accordion combo. If you have tickets for a musical duet, you'll be watching and listening to two performers. You can also call the composition that's written for the two of them a duet, since it has parts for two instruments. Two dancers can also perform a duet, a dance especially choreographed for a couple. Duet stems from the Italian duetto, "musical composition for two voices," from duo, or "two."
Vocabulary lists containing duet
Music - Introductory
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Music - Middle School
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It Takes Two: Di
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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:
The duet was released in June last year as a remix of Fender's solo album track.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
This is especially clear in standout moments like “The Test,” a duet with her daughter, Lola Leon, and one of the most important songs of Madonna’s entire career.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
When Pharrell wrote a song for our duet, we were in the studio, cutting the track.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
At the Capulet ball where Romeo and Juliet meet, Juliet and her mother grab microphones and sing a brief duet, presumably because Lady Capulet is played by LaChanze, a musical-theater star.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
They got all smiley and stuck out their hands to shake and said like a duet: “Nice to meet you, John.”
From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli
When Broadway veteran Rachel Potter brought friend and fellow showcase act Omar Cardona out to sing with her, she told the audience they had developed an entire show of duets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
In the early 1980s Mr. McCartney worked on duets with Michael Jackson and, in a spirit of generosity, told him that the real money was in publishing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
Her duets album, The Secret of Life, is nominated for best traditional pop album - a category she has lost 13 times since it was introduced in 1992.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
Long a symbol of glamour and desire, Brigitte Bardot's image was forged in a cluster of cult films and pop duets.
From Barron's ● Dec. 28, 2025
She played duets with Ekaterina Migunova, her deputy chief of staff and an old friend from the Zhukovsky Academy.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
