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:
“Pound’s Cantos have their rewards, but the rewards come intermittently,” he writes of the poet’s eccentric magnum opus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
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 orange blossom had already become the state flower in 1909, and, by 1967, a year after McPhee’s opus, the orange was the state fruit.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
But through Bad Bunny, Puerto Rico had something to say: He tapped into his unique star power with his zeitgeist-defining magnum opus, his 2025 album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
Darwin now rushed to finish the monumental opus that he had originally intended to publish with all his findings.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Our critic raved that the opera “is a ferocious work, and the riveting new production by director Louisa Proske . . . did not hold back.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Questions about balance sheets and cash flow felt far away inside the opera house this week at a dress rehearsal of "Bardo."
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
The world's longest-running soap opera, The Archers has been recording in the West Midlands city for 75 years.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
When Pete Townshend debuted “Tommy” for Cohn in the late ’60s, the rock opera lacked that same sense of immediacy.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
I followed the sound of her typing and dinging until I could see her through the glass door, typing madly in another opera dress.
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
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
On view through Sept. 25, in conjunction with the art exhibition “Documenta,” the pieces in “Rug Bombs” range from throw sizes to 10-by-14-foot opuses that can command an entire room.
From New York Times ● Sep. 1, 2022
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
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