pianist
Americannoun
-
pianists
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pianist
1830–40; < French pianiste < Italian pianista. See piano 1, -ist
Explanation
If you play the piano, you are a pianist. The word most often describes a professional piano player, like a pianist in the symphony. A pianist might work playing jazz standards in a restaurant or performing solo shows on stages all over the world. A local pianist might make some extra money by giving piano lessons to kids, tuning pianos, or serving as a substitute music teacher. The French source of the word pianist is pianiste, which comes from the Italian piano e forte, "soft and loud."
Vocabulary lists containing pianist
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:
The 41-year-old was also featured on BBC Radio 4 as an accomplished pianist in 2015, and appeared as a panel guest on an episode of A Question of Sport in 2014.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
At the other extreme, she becomes artist-in-residence of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, where she will serve as pianist, conductor and curator in Beethoven’s birthplace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Neill plays the awkward, ignorant Scottish farmer who arranges for a mail-order marriage with Holly Hunter’s mute pianist and then becomes possessive and driven to jealous despair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Grace also played piano for her sister, and Caitlin passed away peacefully while music from her favourite pianist, Patrik Pietschmann, was played on a speaker.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
When I’m a famous pianist, I’ll make sure the name written in fancy script on the program says my full name—Isabella Badia Thornton.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
“He’s playing better than most of the professional pianists I’ve worked with,” says Hurwitz, who regularly conducts “La La Land in Concert.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
It now means one-handed pianists can work towards a recognised qualification at every level in the 93 countries the board operates in.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
There are many ways to help the sight impaired read the printed word, but pianists and others need to read music at the piano.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
For generations, pianists and music teachers have insisted that a performer's touch can change the character of a piano's sound.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026
He was the headliner, performing after six other gifted young pianists.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
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.
