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

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

Ms. Futterer was touching as Mary Johnson, who tries to protect both men; other members of the strong cast included high soprano Kaileigh Riess as a spiteful office worker and Luke Harnish as Joseph McCarthy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Elizabeth Fraser.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

That sense of liberation is clearly behind Del Tredici’s “Final Alice,” an hourlong romp around the ending of “Alice in Wonderland” for superhuman soprano and orchestra.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Mary Saunders Patterson was a well-known black soprano who lived just a few blocks away.

From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, a thrillingly personal artist already ranked as one of the greatest of all mezzo sopranos, died from cancer 20 years ago this month at age 52.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

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

From BBC ● May 17, 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

Scotto long reigned as one of the most popular sopranos at the Metropolitan Opera.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2023

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