genre

American  

[zhahn-ruh, zhahn-r^uh] / ˈʒɑn rə, ˈʒɑ̃ rə /

noun

• genres
  plural

1. a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like.

   the genre of epic poetry; the genre of symphonic music.

2. Fine Arts.

   1. paintings in which scenes of everyday life form the subject matter.

   2. a realistic style of painting using such subject matter.

3. genus; kind; sort; style.

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adjective

1. Fine Arts. of or relating to genre.

2. of or relating to a distinctive literary type.

genre British  

/ ˈʒɑːnrə /

noun

1. 1. kind, category, or sort, esp of literary or artistic work

   2. ( as modifier )

      genre fiction

2. a category of painting in which domestic scenes or incidents from everyday life are depicted

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genre Cultural  

1. The kind or type of a work of art, from the French, meaning “kind” or “genus.” Literary genres include the novel and the sonnet. Musical genres include the concerto and the symphony. Film genres include Westerns and horror movies.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• genres
  plural

Etymology

Origin of genre

First recorded in 1760–70; from French: “kind, sort”; see gender ¹

Explanation

A genre is a specific type of music, film, or writing. Your favorite literary genre might be science fiction, and your favorite film genre might be horror flicks about cheerleaders. Go figure. In music, genre refers to musical style such as jazz, salsa or rock. In film or literature, the genre is determined by the subject, setting or plot of the story. When you are wandering around a book store, books are usually arranged by genre. Many genres, such as "mystery" or "fantasy," overlap in film and literature, while others, such as "romantic comedy" in film or "historical fiction" in books, are specific to one or the other.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

genre genres

“Together,” Mr. Doherty notes, “the film inventory and the expert commentary created the archival documentary, the motion picture genre that preserves and rewinds our history.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

They’ve surpassed $2 billion in sales for Starbucks, as they’ve launched an ever-sprawling genre of refresher varieties: water-based, lemonade-based, coconut milk–based, chili-dusted, frozen and blended.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

The genre includes nature livestreams, like the one broadcasting two celebrity eagles in Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

The genre dispute was represented by two rival record companies that defined 1990s hip-hop: Knight's Death Row Records and Sean "Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Epic in scope, violence, and imagination, Deathstorm is a new benchmark in the fantasy genre and cements forever G. M. Pennington’s status as the American Tolkien.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

He added that Sony is looking for ways to integrate gaming and anime, genres he said have a natural affinity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

A cohort of people who pursued and brought light to all genres of food stories.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

Quaresma says making Therapy at the Club taught her "how fun it is to really blend genres and to delve more into making pop music to make really big songs".

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

I found love for those genres and singers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Jazz celebrity though he was, Duke Ellington disliked his music being pigeonholed as ‘jazz’; he preferred simply to call it ‘American music’, and he experimented in many forms and genres.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• brand
• category
• character
• fashion
• kind
• style