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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

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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

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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

As Beethoven does in his violin concerto, Bruch uses virtuosic passagework only insofar as it enables us to better know the melody.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

He concluded "that the works contain substantial similarities" including the "repeated copying" of the melody from Just The Two of Us, the documents said.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

It’s Morello half-speaking, half-singing against a gentle piano melody that emotionally underscores the song’s message of quiet defiance: “Maybe you can save me/Maybe you can’t/Maybe you can liberate me/Nah, I’ll take care of that.”

From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026

Beyond its storytelling, the song’s melody and chopped vocal riff are unforgettable on this track, standing out from the rest of the album.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

There was just the ghostly melody and me.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Eighth grade teacher Melody Stambaugh speaks with eighth grader Amber during their morning meeting at Scholarship Prep - South Bay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Eighth grader Erick works on a morning activity during eighth grade teacher Melody Stambaugh’s class.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 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

He also formed the Casual Club Quintet, earning an honourable mention in Melody Maker, one of Britain's most influential music weeklies.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026

“Let me tell you something, Doctor. There is no way in heaven or hell that we will be sending Melody away to a nursing home!”

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

Social media is full of videos joking about middle-aged parents dropping everything when they hear a few notes from the game's familiar ocarina melodies.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Dark as the story is, though, co-writer Joss Holden-Rea’s tunes are stunners with limber melodies and creatively off-kilter lyrics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

"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

The melodies are good, but the arrangements are not really meant for the piano, but for singing.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

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Related Words

• chant
• lyric
• music
• refrain
• theme

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