piccolo
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of piccolo
1855–60; < Italian: literally, small
Explanation
Many orchestras include a piccolo, which is a small, high-pitched flute. The word piccolo is in the fairly extensive group of Italian words that designate musical instruments and other musical terms. A piccolo is a small flute that plays an octave higher than an ordinary one; the word comes, appropriately enough, from the Italian for "small," which is also piccolo.
Vocabulary lists containing piccolo
Music to My Ears: Instrumental Vocab
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2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
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Musical Instruments - Introductory
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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.
Her flutes — from piccolo to bass and all in between — and friends became magic makers in this numinous physical and musical landscape.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
Being selected is a testament to every band member who came before, said Claire Rhyu, a flute and piccolo player, and she’s still in disbelief.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 24, 2023
For every passage of lyricism that emerges from instrumental dialogue, there is a phrase with the uncanny exactitude of Messiaen: a piccolo call, an agitated piano flutter.
From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2022
A piccolo and a cello traced a line like a bead of sweat.
From Washington Post • Apr. 8, 2022
As if understanding his signal perfectly, a single piccolo played a single note and off in the east a solitary shaft of cool lemon light flicked across the sky.
From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster
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.
