opus
Americannoun
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opuses,
plural
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opera
plural
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a musical composition.
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one of the compositions of a composer, usually numbered according to the order of publication.
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a literary work or composition, as a book: op.
Have you read her latest opus?
noun
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an artistic composition, esp a musical work
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(often capital) (usually followed by a number) a musical composition by a particular composer, generally catalogued in order of publication
Beethoven's opus 61 is his violin concerto
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of opus
1695–1705; < Latin: work, labor, a work
Explanation
An opus is a created work, usually musical in nature. The composer's greatest opus was inspired by the blooming of the spring flowers. While an opus is a piece of work, usually musical, the best way to remember it is to know that the preferred plural of opus is opera which everyone associates with music. You can also say opuses for the plural if you want, but how is that going to help you remember anything? A common usage of opus is with the term magnum opus which refers to one’s greatest work, musical or otherwise.
Vocabulary lists containing opus
100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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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:
My friend Sharon and I had just settled at our table and ordered our dinner and drinks when she steered our conversation toward Christopher Nolan’s latest opus.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
The Surge was pleased to publish a quick li’l 4,000-plus-word opus this week on Sen. Susan Collins and what makes her such a tough opponent.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
That’s the backdrop for Wall Street giant Citi’s 165-page opus on the global commodities outlook, written by strategists led by Maximilian Layton.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026
While Mr. Livingston is unstinting in his admiration for Mr. Sumption’s opus, and often cites it in his endnotes, he offers many valuable insights of his own, delivered in a lively, conversational style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
Copernicus published his magnum opus on his deathbed—in 1543, just before the church started clamping down on new ideas.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Museums, art galleries, film studios, libraries, and opera houses have also been damaged.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
We see Holbein’s image of Anne multiplying through an 18th-century oil portrait; Jacob Houbraken’s 1738 engraving and a constellation of miniature copies; and Queen Victoria’s sketch of Giulia Grisi singing in Donizetti’s opera “Anna Bolena.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Beginning her career as a child actor, Hayden Panettiere was just four years old when she was cast on the popular US soap opera One Life to Live.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Ms. Waleson writes on opera for the Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
She wants to sing some opera song from her last recital for her audition piece.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
Two summers ago, the most overt commonality shared by Greta Gerwig’s and Christopher Nolan’s opuses was a release date pitting the predicted box office whales against each other.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2025
Still, there would be no “Sonata Pathétique” without Prince Lichnowsky’s purse strings, no Sistine Chapel without Pope Julius II, no bold young talents like Corbet making their worthy magnum opuses without someone footing the bill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
They riffed on revealing their career-defining opuses at this, the perfect moment, only to unleash … nothing.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2023
He’s also known for taking excessively dull subjects, like concrete and water, and writing fascinatingly about them in magnum opuses for The New Yorker.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 1, 2020
His opuses are in demand And are the final test By which all others fall or stand In this the mighty west!
From Hoosier Lyrics by Eugene Field
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.
