Sondheim

American

[sond-hahym] / ˈsɒnd haɪm /

noun

Stephen (Joshua), 1930–2021, U.S. composer and lyricist.

Sondheim British

/ ˈsɒndhaɪm /

noun

Stephen ( Joshua ). born 1930, US songwriter. He wrote the lyrics for West Side Story (1957), the score for Company (1971), and both for A Little Night Music (1973), Into the Woods (1987), and Passion (1994)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Opening track I Will Overcome finds her doom-scrolling through her phone on the rainy streets of Paris, set to an orchestral score that recalls Sondheim at his most melodramatic.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Okrent portrays Sondheim as witty and endearing, but also poorly groomed, remote, caustic, quick to anger — and, mostly, quick to forgive.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

She famously bemoaned his birth in a cruel letter, which Okrent suggests Sondheim may have misquoted.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

Today, Sondheim ranks as the most influential figure in musical theater since the advent of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

Sondheim had learnt his trade by writing lyrics for West Side Story, which opened in 1957.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023