sonata
noun
a composition for one or two instruments, typically in three or four movements in contrasted forms and keys.
sonatas
-
pluralof sonata.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
But a startling number of pieces—symphonies, sonatas, madrigals, sonnets, even ambitious operas—were composed to the highest standards of professional musicianship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
In fact, this may be one reason why Brahms’ only solo music for viola was an alternate version he made of his two clarinet sonatas composed near the end of his life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
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
Before the Schubert, Vogt and the Tetzlaffs had essayed the three Brahms trios, as well as two by Dvorak; with Christian alone, there were accounts of sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2023
He heard me play for several days in a row, interrupting sonatas by Locatelli and Leclair to request “Cup o’ Stingo” and “Cold and Raw.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
