melody
1 Americannoun
plural
melodies-
musical sounds in agreeable succession or arrangement.
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Music.
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the succession of single tones in musical compositions, as distinguished from harmony and rhythm.
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the principal part in a harmonic composition; the air.
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a rhythmical succession of single tones producing a distinct musical phrase or idea.
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a poem suitable for singing.
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intonation, as of a segment of connected speech.
noun
noun
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music
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a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; tune
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the horizontally represented aspect of the structure of a piece of music Compare harmony
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sounds that are pleasant because of tone or arrangement, esp words of poetry
Related Words
See harmony.
Other Word Forms
- melodyless adjective
- undermelody noun
Etymology
Origin of melody
1250–1300; Middle English melodie from Medieval Latin melōdia from Greek melōidía “(choral) singing,” equivalent to mel- ( melic ) + -ōid- ( ode ) + -ia -y 3
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.
“Sucker for Love” has the effervescence of an ’80s synth-pop tune in the vein of Madonna’s first album, with more open space in the sequenced rhythms and a bouncy melody packed with hooks.
But there’s still so much to learn about harmony and melody from that instrument, you know?
From Los Angeles Times
Meanwhile, Russ Field, the band's former guitarist, said Oakes had an "uncanny natural talent to write catchy melodies and lyrics".
From BBC
He goes in for proclamatory melody, each note an event, when punched out by brass and lower string like hammering spikes in the ground.
From Los Angeles Times
On “Pajarito,” a light and whimsical number in Spanish addressed to a little bird, he whistles part of the melody as the circular chord progression invites clapping along.
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.
