septet
Americannoun
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any group of seven persons or things.
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a company of seven singers or musicians.
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a musical composition for seven voices or instruments.
noun
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music a group of seven singers or instrumentalists or a piece of music composed for such a group
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a group of seven people or things
Etymology
Origin of septet
From German, dating back to 1830–40; see origin at septi-, -et
Explanation
A group of seven people or seven items is a septet. Parts of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are written in septets, or stanzas of seven lines. In literature, the septet is fairly rare and often associated with Chaucer, who was the first known poet to use a seven-line iambic pentameter stanza, also known as a "rhyme royal." Outside of poetry, a septet is also a group of seven singers or musicians. You can describe any group of seven this way as well, like the septet of chickens that lives in your back yard. The Latin root, septem, means "seven."
Vocabulary lists containing septet
UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #6
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Introduction to Poetry
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pent (5), quin (5), hex (6), sept (7), oct (8), dec (10)
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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.
Retailing stocks are worth about 6% of the AI septet, down from 14% in 2022, more evidence of how the market has become dominated by Nvidia and its peers.
From Barron's • Nov. 18, 2025
“We worked on this today for three hours,” scene tech whiz Beowulf Jones noted as Todd Glass took the sold-out UCB stage with a lounge septet.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2024
The instrumental septet toasts the savory new album “Filter System” with a Black Friday release show at the Croc with openers Electric Kif.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2023
The septet, composed of members Jimin, RM, Jungkook, Jin, Suga, J-Hope and V, were the world's second best-selling artist last year, behind Taylor Swift, according to industry tracker IFPI.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2023
With Everest, the most difficult of the septet, already taken care of, Hall and Ball wangled backing from a big electrical utility, Power Build, and were on their way.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
