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
Etymology
Origin of duet
1730–40; earlier duett < Italian duetto, equivalent to du ( o ) duet + -etto -et
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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.
Susanna and Grace bond while singing a gentle duet about former patients Robert Lowell and Sylvia Plath.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
His duet videos, he says, aim to reassure others that "you don't have to reject who you were to become who you are".
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Prince turned down a chance to duet with Jackson on “Bad” over what can only be perceived as a power struggle based on the lyrics.
From Salon • May 16, 2026
Compelling listeners to dance, the song is "a duet of very high musical quality" and "a three-minute burst of drama", Finnish Eurovision expert Anna Muurinen told AFP.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
The odd, wolfish duet floated through the air: this time it was a pair of high-pitched, girlish howls, followed by a deep and manly one.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
