glissando

American  

[gli-sahn-doh] / glɪˈsɑn doʊ /

adjective

1. performed with a gliding effect by sliding one or more fingers rapidly over the keys of a piano or strings of a harp.

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noun

• glissandi
  plural

1. a glissando passage.

2. (in string playing) a slide.

glissando British  

/ ɡlɪˈsændəʊ /

noun

1. a rapidly executed series of notes on the harp or piano, each note of which is discretely audible

2. a portamento, esp as executed on the violin, viola, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• glissandi
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of glissando

1870–75; < French gliss ( er ) to slide + Italian -ando gerund ending

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Compare meaning

How does glissando compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• portamento vs. glissando

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

glissando glissandi

The song dissolves with another harp glissando that’s seamlessly replaced by the chunky, churning beat of “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

But I might like what comes next even more: a glissando that swings up past the “right” note and sounds, magically, like the piano in its exuberance is singing just a little sharp.

From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2023

She likened the sound of this brief passage to a quick, abbreviated glissando on a piano.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 5, 2023

And the British folk scene is particularly specific and it doesn’t have any of the glissando and the kind of flattened thirds, kind of blue notes which I have spent my life bathing in.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2022

From behind the walls, a tremendous glissando trumps forth from Sammy’s piano, and I turn to number forty-five’s mom and say, “Wow, what a dramatic audition song. What’s he singing?”

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

That’s reflected, Nally said, in the music, which has an “out-of-focusness” that comes from Gordon’s taste for glissandi and love of canons.

From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2022

The new concerto is a work of considerable beauty, with delicate, feathery glissandi in the two harps, a bewitching double cadenza, and intricate rhythmic patterns.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 19, 2021

On the harp, Sator spoke in euphoric glissandi and thoughtful pinpricks, while Pirog’s wobbling guitar tone replied in playful smears.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 31, 2021

Minimalist beats predominated, as did arresting sound effects achieved by violently hitting the keys or racing hands across the keys in massive glissandi.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2015

The piano in it is put to various uses, with a fill of glissandi matching the diabolic mood.

From Franz Liszt by James Huneker

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