sonata

American  

[suh-nah-tuh] / səˈnɑ tə /

noun

Music.

• sonatas
  plural

1. a composition for one or two instruments, typically in three or four movements in contrasted forms and keys.

---

sonata British  

/ səˈnɑːtə /

noun

1. an instrumental composition, usually in three or more movements, for piano alone ( piano sonata ) or for any other instrument with or without piano accompaniment ( violin sonata , cello sonata , etc) See also sonata form symphony concerto

2. a one-movement keyboard composition of the baroque period

---

sonata Cultural  

1. A musical composition for one or two instruments, usually in three or four movements. The sonata of the classic era in music had a definite arrangement for its movements: the first and fourth had a fast tempo, the second had a slow tempo, and the third was in either playful style (a “scherzo”) or in dance form (a “minuet”).

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sonatas
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of sonata

1685–95; < Italian < Latin sonāta, feminine of sonātus (past participle of sonāre to sound ¹ ). See sonant, -ate ¹

---

Compare meaning

How does sonata compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• sonata vs. concerto

---

Explanation

A sonata is a long piece of classical music that's usually made up of several parts. A sonata can be played by an orchestra or just one instrument, like a piano. If you're a classical music fan, you've probably heard sonatas played in concert halls or on recordings. Beethoven and Mozart famously composed sonatas for the piano, and modern composers continue to write sonatas for many different instruments. The Italian word sonata has come to mean "piece of instrumental music," although its literal translation is "sounded" or "played." This is in contrast to another Italian musical term, cantata, which means "sung," or "musical piece that is sung."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sonata sonatas

Instead, he writes, Brahms had a quick, cutting wit: Once, when he played the piano in his own sonata, the cellist complained it was so loud he couldn’t hear himself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Put on the sonata and let your mind swim unattended.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

“When Harry Met Sally” rings so true because there isn’t a single false note in its lovely sonata.

From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2025

She performed at local churches and won second place in a statewide contest with a Scarlatti sonata at age 13.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2025

Whether a piece of music is a march, a sonata, or a theme and variations, the composer is always free to experiment with the overall architecture of the piece.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

She pushed forward Bach fugues—previously associated with the church, not concerts—and Beethoven piano sonatas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Largely erased from classical music history because he was biracial, the 18th-century French Caribbean violinist and composer Joseph Bologne wrote concertos, sonatas and symphonies.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 19, 2023

The sonatas were, in her reading at the time, intimate, private musings that were made public but didn’t seem as if they needed to be.

From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2023

Chapel has certain inherent abilities: He is capable of remembering and applying thousands of algorithms to solve a Rubik’s Cube and performing one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s violin sonatas from memory.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2023

And he would start to conduct his frantic silent sonatas.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---