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• piano
  piano

  noun

  a musical instrument in which felt-covered hammers, operated from a keyboard, strike the metal strings.
• Piano
  Piano

  noun

  Renzo. born 1937, Italian architect; buildings include the Pompidou Centre, Paris (1977; with Richard Rogers), the Potsdamer Platz redevelopment, Berlin (1998), and The Shard, London (2012)

piano

¹ American  

[pee-an-oh, pyan-oh] / piˈæn oʊ, ˈpjæn oʊ /

noun

pianos plural

1. a musical instrument in which felt-covered hammers, operated from a keyboard, strike the metal strings.

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piano ² American  

[pee-ah-noh, pyah-naw] / piˈɑ noʊ, ˈpjɑ nɔ /

adjective

1. soft; subdued.

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adverb

1. softly. p, p.

piano ¹ British  

/ ˈpjɑːnəʊ /

adjective

1.  p.  music (to be performed) softly

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piano ² British  

/ pɪˈænəʊ /

noun

1. a musical stringed instrument resembling a harp set in a vertical or horizontal frame, played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike the strings and produce audible vibrations See also grand piano upright piano

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Piano ³ British  

/ pjˈɑno /

noun

1. Renzo. born 1937, Italian architect; buildings include the Pompidou Centre, Paris (1977; with Richard Rogers), the Potsdamer Platz redevelopment, Berlin (1998), and The Shard, London (2012)

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piano Cultural  

1. A musical direction meaning “to be performed softly”; the opposite of forte. As the name of a musical instrument, it is short for pianoforte.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pianos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of piano¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; short for pianoforte

Origin of piano²

1675–85; < Italian: soft, low (of sounds), plain, flat < Latin plānus plain ¹

Explanation

A piano is a large musical instrument that you play by pressing black and white keys on a keyboard. Most people play a piano with their fingers, but Jerry Lee Lewis played with his fingers, feet, elbows, and, ahem, backside. A piano makes a sound when each key moves a small hammer that strikes a metal string. The inside of a piano looks kind of like a harp. Pianos are vital in many kinds of music, from classical to pop, and in the case of Lewis, boogie-woogie. Piano comes from the original Italian name for the instrument: piano e forte, "soft and loud." Piano is also the musical notation that tells the player that something should be played quietly.

Example Sentences

It was already after midnight—Sunday morning, July 8—when Ellington launched “Diminuendo and Crescendo” with a few blues choruses of his own on piano.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026

With Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” as a piano dirge.

From Salon • Jul. 5, 2026

A small amount will also be used for tree planting, memorial plaques, school awards and a dedicated piano in the hospital.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

Taking a cue from nickelodeon piano players, composer John Powell steers the mood with a vibrantly eclectic score of sprightly ragtime, violin pathos and popcorn crescendos.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026

As I poured him a cup of tea in our finest china, Joylette played the piano.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Related Words

• grand piano
• instrument
• keyboard