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• melody
  melody

  noun

  musical sounds in agreeable succession or arrangement.
• Melody
  Melody

  noun

  a female given name.

melody

¹ American  

[mel-uh-dee] / ˈmɛl ə di /

noun

• melodies
  plural

1. musical sounds in agreeable succession or arrangement.

2. Music.

   1. the succession of single tones in musical compositions, as distinguished from harmony and rhythm.

   2. the principal part in a harmonic composition; the air.

   3. a rhythmical succession of single tones producing a distinct musical phrase or idea.

   Synonyms:

   theme, descant, song, tune

3. a poem suitable for singing.

4. intonation, as of a segment of connected speech.

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Melody ² American  

[mel-uh-dee] / ˈmɛl ə di /

noun

1. a female given name.

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melody British  

/ ˈmɛlədɪ /

noun

1. music

   1. a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; tune

   2. the horizontally represented aspect of the structure of a piece of music Compare harmony

2. sounds that are pleasant because of tone or arrangement, esp words of poetry

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Synonym Usage

See harmony.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undermelody
  noun
• melodyless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• melodies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of melody

1250–1300; Middle English melodie from Medieval Latin melōdia from Greek melōidía “(choral) singing,” equivalent to mel- ( see melic) + -ōid- ( see ode) + -ia -y ³

Explanation

In any musical composition, there is a dominant line that creates a tone pattern known as the piece's melody. There are specific rules for the musical composition of a melody, and most fall into regular patterns. The ancient Greek word melōidía was used to denote a tune for lyric poetry. It was derived from melos, which meant "song." In most songs, the melody follows a logical, mathematical pattern that creates a memorable line of notes. The word suggests a beautiful and pleasant sound, as was celebrated in the 1946 Irving Berlin lyrics, "A pretty girl is like a melody that haunts you night and day."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

melody Melody melodies

Like humans, sharks use a melody of senses to interpret the world around them, said Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

"So I was personally yearning for hooks and verses that are as powerful as choruses. Like an Elton John song where the melody just breaks your heart."

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

“Cien Años” played on, the elusive contours of its melody floating in the afternoon air.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

Sometimes, he simply delights in a melody, as with “Brilliant Corners,” which lasts slightly more than a minute.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Notice, however, that in other places in the music, the melody establishes the meter very strongly, so that the syncopations are easily heard to be syncopations.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

It houses shelf after shelf of cute Japanese characters such as My Melody, Totoro and Kuromi.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Still, the home failed to sell, prompting the musician—who is married to fashion designer Melody Ehsani—to slash his ask once more in March 2024, this time to $6.8 million.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Also at the hotel on Monday evening was migration agent Melody Naghmeh Danai, on standby to assist those choosing to stay about their options.

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026

Soon I worked as a backstage assistant at the Cape Cod Melody Tent and danced in the chorus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

“So, what’s with you and Melody being best friends, Claire?”

From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper

"I walk around in circles to get the melodies, to catch them," the Australian singer says.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

Testing sound mixes at home with his daughter, he learned to balance the heavy beat with clear vocal tracks and familiar melodies so toddlers could still recognize the song.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

When I was 11, I would lock myself in my room and play the James Bond soundtracks with those lethal John Barry melodies and the larger-than-life voices of Shirley Bassey and Nancy Sinatra.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

People still marvel at Miyazaki’s handcrafted backgrounds and his painstaking dedication to balancing its feather-light score with the melodies of flowing water or the gentle crunch of a child’s footfalls on grass and gravel.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

Without definitive documentary evidence of particular sources we may never know if this research included tribal melodies he later passed off as his own.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• chant
• lyric
• music
• refrain
• theme