melody
noun
musical sounds in agreeable succession or arrangement.
melody
1 American
[mel-uh-dee]
/ ˈmɛl ə di /
noun
-
melodies
plural
-
musical sounds in agreeable succession or arrangement.
-
Music.
-
the succession of single tones in musical compositions, as distinguished from harmony and rhythm.
-
the principal part in a harmonic composition; the air.
-
a rhythmical succession of single tones producing a distinct musical phrase or idea.
-
-
a poem suitable for singing.
-
intonation, as of a segment of connected speech.
Melody
2
American
[mel-uh-dee]
/ ˈmɛl ə di /
noun
melody
British
/ ˈmɛlədɪ /
noun
-
music
-
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; tune
-
the horizontally represented aspect of the structure of a piece of music Compare harmony
-
-
sounds that are pleasant because of tone or arrangement, esp words of poetry
Synonym Usage
See harmony.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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."
Vocabulary lists containing melody
First-Name Basis: Words That Are Also Names
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"The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes
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Music - Introductory
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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:
Fabi and I would take turns, I’d play a synthesizer melody and she would strum guitar chords, searching for rhythmic ideas; sometimes we’d just shout at each other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
I do believe that in writing, there is a rhythm and melody within a sentence, just like there’s a narrative arc in a guitar solo.”
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
When seeking out new songs, Clark said it was "always the melody" that caught her ear, "because melody is international".
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
The melody on the jazzy “Betrayal” is memorable and affecting, and “The Test,” a synth-pop duet with her daughter Lola Leon, is one of the best songs on the record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Notice that the syncopated notes in the melody come on the second and fourth quarters of the beat, essentially alternating with the strong eighth-note pattern laid down in the accompaniment.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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
Abby Mayers and her wife Melody, both 22, live in Cheshire and usually walk their cat Olive in Erddig, Wrexham and Llangollen, Denbighshire.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 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
As she spoke, the Waiting Melody that hung over her like a shimmering temple elephant’s umbrella crumbled and gently fell about like dust.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
There are bulletproof pop melodies, gentle riffs, solid construction, and engaging stories.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 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
"The lyrics come much easier than the melodies," she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
You remember the rhythms and twinkly synths more than the melodies, and Madonna allows her own voice to be subsumed in the music.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
He was three tents down from me and he sometimes hummed melodies of songs I had never heard until he fell asleep.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
