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• unison
  unison

  noun

  coincidence in pitch of two or more musical tones, voices, etc.
• UNISON
  UNISON

  noun

  (in Britain) a trade union representing local government, health care, and other workers: formed in 1993 by the amalgamation of COHSE, NALGO, and NUPE

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unison

American  

[yoo-nuh-suhn, -zuhn] / ˈju nə sən, -zən /

noun

1. coincidence in pitch of two or more musical tones, voices, etc.

2. the musical interval of a perfect prime.

3. the performance of musical parts at the same pitch or at the octave.

4. a sounding together in octaves, especially of male and female voices or of higher and lower instruments of the same class.

5. a process in which all elements behave in the same way at the same time; simultaneous or synchronous parallel action.

   to march in unison.

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idioms

1. in unison, in perfect accord; corresponding exactly.

   My feelings on the subject are in unison with yours.

UNISON ¹ British  

/ ˈjuːnɪsən /

noun

1. (in Britain) a trade union representing local government, health care, and other workers: formed in 1993 by the amalgamation of COHSE, NALGO, and NUPE

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unison ² British  

/ ˈjuːnɪsən, -zən /

noun

1. music

   1. the interval between two sounds of identical pitch

   2. (modifier) played or sung at the same pitch

      unison singing

2. complete agreement; harmony (esp in the phrase in unison )

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unison Cultural  

1. Playing or singing the same musical notes, or notes separated from each other by one or several octaves. Musicians who perform in unison are not playing or singing chords.

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Other Word Forms

• nonunison
  noun
• unisonous
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of unison

1565–75; < Medieval Latin ūnisonus of a single sound, equivalent to Latin ūni- uni- + sonus sound

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Explanation

The noun unison describes something that is synchronized or simultaneous, like when someone asks a question and you and your friend respond with the exact same answer at the same moment. When something is said in unison, two or more voices sound like one. Unison comes from the Latin root words uni, meaning "one," and sonous, meaning "sound." So unison literally means one sound, and in music, it still retains that meaning. Unison occurs when two or more people play or sing the same pitch or in octaves. Outside of music, you may have experienced unison speaking when your class recites something together or unison movement when a group performs a dance routine.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unison UNISON

She made them laugh, she made them cheer, she brought tears to the eyes of some and concluded with the rebel chant long associated with her that we shouted in unison — sí se puede.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

But as he held forth about the failures of both parties, students in the room nodded their heads in unison.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

Their behavior resembles two rowers moving their oars in unison.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

Then, beginning in August, software stocks, semiconductors and the megacaps started moving higher in unison, as investors saw the tech sector as the best bet for resisting the pull of rising interest rates.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

But to his surprise, several dozen ghostly skirmishers nocked arrows in unison.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

UNISON, Unite and GMB are taking action on 21 December.

From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2022

Dave Prentis, the leader of Britain's second largest union UNISON, said the Royal Liverpool Hospital site had become "an epic monument to failure".

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2018

UNISON, the second-largest, which represents public-sector workers, used to rely on its workplace stewards to get new members.

From Economist ● Sep. 17, 2015

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