soprano

American  

[suh-pran-oh, -prah-noh] / səˈpræn oʊ, -ˈprɑ noʊ /

noun

• sopranos
  plural

1. the uppermost part or voice.

2. the highest singing voice in women and boys.

3. a part for such a voice.

4. a singer with such a voice.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a soprano; having the compass of a soprano.

soprano British  

/ səˈprɑːnəʊ /

noun

1. the highest adult female voice, having a range approximately from middle C to the A a thirteenth above it

2. the voice of a young boy before puberty

3. a singer with such a voice

4. the highest part of a piece of harmony

5. 1. the highest or second highest instrument in a family of instruments

   2. ( as modifier )

      a soprano saxophone

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soprano Cultural  

1. The highest range of the female singing voice. (Compare alto and mezzo soprano.)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sopranos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of soprano

1720–30; < Italian: literally, what is above, high, equivalent to sopra (< Latin suprā above) + -ano adj. suffix

Explanation

The opera performer with the highest voice is a soprano. A soprano is usually a woman, and she can hit the high notes. A woman who sings at the highest register is one kind of soprano, and her singing voice itself can also be called a soprano. Sometimes high-voiced male singers are described this way too, although it's more common to call them countertenors, or to describe their singing voices as falsetto. Soprano is an Italian word that means "the treble in music," or "high," from sopra, or "above."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

soprano sopranos

Work to add a padel court and luxury car garage hit the brakes after a survey found several species of bat, including the common pipistrelle and soprano pipistrelles, foraging in the grounds.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Harris’ feather-light soprano is intoxicating, even when the story takes a sobering turn and the protagonist’s mother decides she’s had enough.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

Her voice, a birdlike soprano with an animated trill, hadn’t changed much from her youth: “I sound like a little girl singing all these Lord-awful songs,” she told “Fresh Air’s” Terry Gross in 2001.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

As Selim, the visiting Turk who catches Fiorilla’s eye, bass Vincent Graña had pitch and rhythm issues, and the grating timbre of Kresley Figueroa’s big, agile soprano undercut her depiction of Fiorilla.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

The choir had been rehearsing for weeks, but on the day of the feast the soprano fell ill with bronchitis.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Dame Felicity Lott, one of Britain's best-loved sopranos, has died at the age of 79.

From BBC ● May 17, 2026

It is suitable for young operaphiles-in-training and budding sopranos and directors alike.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

In their study, the scientists showed that the high-frequency sounds of operatic sopranos are produced with the same principle than speech and most other forms of singing.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2024

“Somebody said she’s the new Nina Stemme. I disagree. She’s the new Nilsson,” he said in a comparison with Birgit Nilsson, regarded as one of the greatest Wagnerian sopranos of the 20th century.

From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2024

I heard the girls’ glee club I used to sing in, way off from the other side of camp, their tiny grade-school sopranos singing, “Beauti-ful dreamer, wake unto me.”

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

Related Words

• singer