a short metrical composition intended or adapted for singing, especially one in rhymed stanzas; a lyric; a ballad.
a musical piece adapted for singing or simulating a piece to be sung.
Mendelssohn's “Songs without Words.”
poetical composition; poetry.
the art or act of singing; vocal music.
something that is sung.
an elaborate vocal signal produced by an animal, as the distinctive sounds produced by certain birds, frogs, etc., in a courtship or territorial display.
a dynasty in China, a.d. 960–1279, characterized by a high level of achievement in painting, ceramics, and philosophy: overthrown by the Mongols. Also Sung
Ailing Ai-ling Soong.
Qingling Ching-ling Soong.
Meiling Mei-ling Soong.
Ziwen Tse-ven Soong.
a piece of music, usually employing a verbal text, composed for the voice, esp one intended for performance by a soloist
the whole repertory of such pieces
( as modifier )
a song book
poetical composition; poetry
the characteristic tuneful call or sound made by certain birds or insects
the act or process of singing
they raised their voices in song
at a bargain price
informal performing at peak efficiency or ability
First recorded before 900; Middle English song, sang, Old English; cognate with German Sang, Old Norse sǫngr, Gothic saggws
Feeling happy? Feeling sad? Sing a song! A song is poetry set to music, and there’s a song for every occasion, from “Happy Birthday” to “Here Comes the Bride.” Tra la la! Most songs have words, or lyrics, though not all of them do — and we call the musical sound a bird makes a song as well. Sometimes rhyming poems are called songs, like Pablo Neruda's "April Rain Song." If your friend tells you she bought her bicycle "for a song," that simply means it was inexpensive, not that she actually had to sing a song to get it.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We showed up, Jake had an idea for another song, and he sent us a little demo and said “Hey, this is what I’ve been thinking about.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
“That’s a great song actually, that’s a very interesting song.”
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
We get in there to do a take for a song, and I’m always like “Let’s just do like three more!”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
Though Village People singer and songwriter Victor Willis has denied the queer interpretation of the song many times over, one of the people who hasn’t internalized that historical correction is Trump himself.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
After Mama had finished the song, it was very quiet for a few minutes.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
