mezzo-soprano

[ met-soh-suh-pran-oh, -prah-noh, med-zoh-, mez-oh- ]

/ ˈmɛt soʊ səˈpræn oʊ, -ˈprɑ noʊ, ˈmɛd zoʊ-, ˈmɛz oʊ- /

Music.

Save This Word!

noun, plural mez·zo-so·pran·os, mez·zo-so·pran·i

[met-soh-suh-pran-ee, -prah-nee, med-zoh-, mez-oh-]. /ˈmɛt soʊ səˈpræn i, -ˈprɑ ni, ˈmɛd zoʊ-, ˈmɛz oʊ-/.

a voice or voice part intermediate in compass between soprano and contralto.

a person having such a voice.

adjective

of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable to a mezzo-soprano.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of mezzo-soprano

Borrowed into English from Italian around 1745–55

Words nearby mezzo-soprano

mezza voce, mezzo, mezzo forte, mezzo piano, mezzo-relievo, mezzo-soprano, mezzo-soprano clef, mezzotint, mf, M.F.A., MFAT

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use mezzo-soprano in a sentence

Anti-hero status, as enjoyed by Tony Soprano and Walter White, is typically a male property.
Is ‘Satisfaction’ a Love Story That’s Too Real About Sex and Marriage?|David Masciotra|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The landscape looks something like the marsh behind the Toys ‘R’ Us where Tony Soprano might bury a body in Jersey.
Our Trip to The Climate War's Ground Zero|Darren Aronofsky|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Someone with a lovely soprano voice was singing me “Happy Birthday.”
Truman’s Grandson & Japan’s A-Bomb Survivors: A Story of Reconciliation|Clifton Truman Daniel|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tony Soprano used to pick up copies of it in his fictional driveway.
Inside the Purge at The Newark Star Ledger, The Paper That Makes Chris Christie Squirm|Olivia Nuzzi|April 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST

How is Walter White different from someone like, say, Tony Soprano?
Breaking Bad Finale: Lost Interviews With Bryan Cranston & Vince Gilligan|Andrew Romano|September 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Once he learnt, with his aunt, the exceedingly florid duet in Semiramide, and sang the soprano part admirably.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
He boasted of having "made a soprano out of Zambinella" and disclosed the fact to Sarrasine that this creature was not a woman.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z|Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
He can if he like make himself a soprano, and sing for hire;—and probably that is the real goal for him.
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. III. (of XXI.)|Thomas Carlyle
Susy Clemens went to Paris to cultivate her voice, a rare soprano, with a view to preparing for the operatic stage.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
A splendid soprano voice was ringing through the room, singing, "Hear me, Norma."
A Changed Heart|May Agnes Fleming

British Dictionary definitions for mezzo-soprano

mezzo-soprano

noun plural -nos

a female voice intermediate between a soprano and contralto and having a range from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above itSometimes shortened to: mezzo

a singer with such a voice

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for mezzo-soprano

mezzo soprano

[ (met-soh, med-zoh) ]

A range of the female singing voice lower than soprano and higher than alto.