violin

American  

[vahy-uh-lin] / ˌvaɪ əˈlɪn /

noun

1. the treble instrument of the family of modern bowed instruments, held nearly horizontal by the player's arm with the lower part supported against the collarbone or shoulder.

2. a violinist or part for a violin.

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violin British  

/ ˌvaɪəˈlɪn /

noun

1. a bowed stringed instrument, the highest member of the violin family, consisting of a fingerboard, a hollow wooden body with waisted sides, and a sounding board connected to the back by means of a soundpost that also supports the bridge. It has two f-shaped sound holes cut in the belly. The instrument, noted for its fine and flexible tone, is the most important of the stringed instruments. It is held under the chin when played. Range: roughly three and a half octaves upwards from G below middle C

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violin Cultural  

1. The most familiar and highest-pitched instrument of the strings. A typical symphony orchestra has more than two dozen violinists.

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Etymology

Origin of violin

1570–80; < Italian violino, equivalent to viol ( a ) ( viola ¹ ) + -ino diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Cancelleri, the California entrepreneur, said he has no regrets about holding his son back and would have been just as proactive if the boy loved the violin.

From The Wall Street Journal

"There's a lot of me playing a really cheap, small violin," he says.

From BBC

In November 2025, while on bail and awaiting sentencing, Gunnery was hired to play Winston Churchill's violin at the prestigious RAF Club in London.

From BBC

She still plays the violin in the West London Sinfonia and hosts a podcast.

From BBC

Irish pipes, bouzouki, violin and fiddle also feature in the performance alongside an oud - a stringed instrument often described as similar to the European lute - and Middle Eastern percussion.

From BBC

Related Words

• fiddle