pianist
Americannoun
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:
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
Singer and pianist Henry Byrd, better known as Professor Longhair, first recorded “Mardi Gras in New Orleans” in 1949, and it’s been an essential part of that annual celebration ever since.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
As a teenager, the pianist and composer played in a swing band, his own trio and then in a sextet called the Jazz Epistles, which also included another South African jazz great, Hugh Masakela.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
"People will politicize everything," Chen, the pianist, said."I just watch it for the fights."
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Sammy the pianist looks up from his iPhone and smiles a crooked, tired smile.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
As part of their studies, they researched other single-handed pianists - such as Nicholas McCarthy and Leon Fleisher - who had made successful careers.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 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
The findings support what many pianists have believed for decades, while also offering a clearer understanding of how skilled movement creates emotional and aesthetic experiences in music.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026
These artists were also serious pianists, attuned, no matter which instrument they were using, to the qualities of rhythm, pattern and progression.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
“Most pianists never get the chance to play in the great out-of-doors,” she said.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
