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symphony orchestra

American  

noun

  1. a large orchestra composed of wind, string, and percussion instruments and organized to perform symphonic compositions.

symphony orchestra British  

noun

  1. music an orchestra capable of performing symphonies, esp the large orchestra comprising strings, brass, woodwind, harp, and percussion

"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

Etymology

Origin of symphony orchestra

First recorded in 1880–85

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.

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour put a symphony orchestra on stage alongside the actors in a savage satire which dramatised the plight of Soviet dissidents locked away in mental hospitals.

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2025

She has two children in the program, her 8-year-old son who was a Sprouts percussionist, and her 13-year-old daughter, Romina Sanchez, a cellist in the symphony orchestra.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

To that end, Sinatra became the first major singer to regularly perform popular music in formal concert settings backed by a full symphony orchestra.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025

When Bryant heard John’s piece for the very first time, emanating from a symphony orchestra, “Oh my God,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2025

To them its assault on the senses was startlingly fresh, as if someone had uninvented the symphony orchestra and started again from scratch.

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.