operetta
[ op-uh-ret-uh ]
/ ˌɒp əˈrɛt ə /
Save This Word!
noun
a short opera, usually of a light and amusing character.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE MANY TYPES OF NOUNS
They're everywhere you turn, but can you identify the 10 types of nouns easily? This quiz will test your mettle against singular, plural, concrete, abstract, common, proper, collective, compound, countable, and uncountable nouns!
Question 1 of 7
Shoelaces, rainbow, toothpaste, and haircuts are all what type of noun?
Meet Grammar Coach
Improve Your Writing
Origin of operetta
1760–70; <Italian, diminutive of operaopera1
OTHER WORDS FROM operetta
op·er·et·tist, nounWords nearby operetta
opercle, operculate, operculitis, operculum, opere citato, operetta, operon, operose, opgefok, Ophelia, Opheltes
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for operetta
British Dictionary definitions for operetta
operetta
/ (ˌɒpəˈrɛtə) /
noun
a type of comic or light-hearted opera
Derived forms of operetta
operettist, nounWord Origin for operetta
C18: from Italian: a small opera 1
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 operetta
operetta
Comic or lighthearted operas of the kind written by Gilbert and Sullivan. Operettas generally have a substantial amount of spoken (not sung) dialogue.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.