serenade

American  

[ser-uh-neyd] / ˌsɛr əˈneɪd /

noun

serenades plural

1. a complimentary performance of vocal or instrumental music in the open air at night, as by a lover under the window of his lady.

2. a piece of music suitable for such performance.

3. serenata.

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verb (used with or without object)

serenades, present (3rd person singular) serenaded, past participle, past serenading present participle

1. to entertain with or perform a serenade.

serenade British  

/ ˌsɛrɪˈneɪd /

noun

1. a piece of music appropriate to the evening, characteristically played outside the house of a woman

2. a piece of music indicative or suggestive of this

3. an extended composition in several movements similar to the modern suite or divertimento

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verb

1. (tr) to play a serenade for (someone)

2. (intr) to play a serenade

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• serenader
  noun
• unserenaded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• serenades
  plural

Participles

• serenading
  present
• serenaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• serenade
  simple
• serenades
  simple
• have serenaded
  perfect
• has serenaded
  perfect
• am serenading
  progressive
• are serenading
  progressive
• is serenading
  progressive
• have been serenading
  perfect progressive
• has been serenading
  perfect progressive

Past

• serenaded
  simple
• had serenaded
  perfect
• was serenading
  progressive
• were serenading
  progressive
• had been serenading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will serenade
  simple
• will have serenaded
  perfect
• will be serenading
  progressive
• will have been serenading
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of serenade

1640–50; < French sérénade < Italian serenata; see serenata

Explanation

If you really want to win someone's heart, take your ukulele to his house at night and serenade him under his open window. When you serenade someone, you play or sing a song, often outdoors. In Italian, serenata means "an evening song," and the noun serenade is a tune played or sung, either for one specific person or for a larger audience, outside. It's still a serenade if you sing in the daytime, but the classic example of a serenade is a man singing below a woman's window at night. The word serenade can be both a noun — the song itself — and a verb — the act of singing or playing the song.

Example Sentences

I remember him saying that in his New York apartment, he practiced Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings on his upright bass while watching snow fall outside his window.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025

Even Wilhelm Furtwängler, who premiered his wistful Symphonic Serenade in 1950, could not do much for him.

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2022

This work had the luxury of fine live musicians performing Beethoven’s Serenade for String Trio in D, Op.

From Washington Post • Jun. 23, 2022

Serenade Foods, an Indiana-based manufacturer, is recalling nearly 60,000 pounds of frozen and raw chicken products for possible salmonella contamination this week after dozens of people across multiple states have gotten sick.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 12, 2021

Someone was playing Schubert's "Serenade" in the moonlight.

From Rainbow Hill by Gooch, Thelma