philharmonic
Americanadjective
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fond of or devoted to music; music-loving: used especially in the name of certain musical societies that sponsor symphony orchestras Philharmonic Societies and hence applied to their concerts philharmonicconcerts.
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of, noting, or presented by a symphony orchestra or the society sponsoring it.
noun
adjective
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fond of music
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(capital when part of a name) denoting an orchestra, choir, society, etc, devoted to the performance, appreciation, and study of music
noun
Usage
Quiz yourself on philharmonic vs. symphony vs. orchestra! Should philharmonic, symphony, or orchestra be used in the following sentence?Mozart composed this _____ in 1786.
Etymology
Origin of philharmonic
1755–65; phil- + harmonic; modeled on French philharmonique or Italian filarmonico
Explanation
The word philharmonic describes a group or organization that's dedicated to music. It's especially common as part of the name of large music ensembles like the New York Philharmonic or the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Sometimes this word is used for orchestral music, so you could describe a symphony as a philharmonic piece. You're much more likely to find it in the names of symphony orchestras, though, from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The word was first used in English around 1913, from the Italian filarmonico, "loving harmony," and its Greek roots philos, "loving," and harmonika, "harmony or music."
Vocabulary lists containing philharmonic
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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.
The eyes turned towards her in Tehran's renowned Vahdat Hall include those of many young women musicians inspired by her taking her place as Iran's first woman philharmonic conductor.
From Barron's • Nov. 15, 2025
He moved to Yekaterinburg, then Kursk, and spent three years in Kurgan, a city to the east of the Ural mountains, before he lost his job at the philharmonic orchestra there in 2022.
From BBC • Aug. 24, 2024
The philharmonic will perform alongside high school musicians chosen in auditions.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 3, 2024
People in Los Angeles are still memorializing a mountain lion, P-22, with T-shirts and a show commissioned by the philharmonic.
From New York Times • May 6, 2023
I pause to take a deep breath with my eyes closed, and I try to channel the way I felt the night of the philharmonic concert.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
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.
