virtuoso

American  

[vur-choo-oh-soh] / ˌvɜr tʃuˈoʊ soʊ /

noun

• virtuosos,
  plural
• virtuosi
  plural

1. a person who has special knowledge or skill in a field.

2. a person who excels in musical technique or execution.

3. a person who has a cultivated appreciation of artistic excellence, as a connoisseur or collector of objects of art, antiques, etc.

4. Obsolete. a person who has special interest or knowledge in the arts and sciences; scientist; scholar.

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adjective

1. Also virtuosic of, relating to, or characteristic of a virtuoso.

   a virtuoso performance.

virtuoso British  

/ ˌvɜːtjʊˈəʊzəʊ, -səʊ /

noun

1. a consummate master of musical technique and artistry

2. a person who has a masterly or dazzling skill or technique in any field of activity

3. a connoisseur, dilettante, or collector of art objects

4. obsolete a scholar or savant

5. (modifier) showing masterly skill or brilliance

   a virtuoso performance

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• virtuosity
  noun
• virtuosic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• virtuosi
  plural
• virtuosos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of virtuoso

1610–20; < Italian: versed, skilled < Late Latin virtuosus virtuous

Explanation

A virtuoso is an incredibly talented musician. You can also be a virtuoso in non-musical fields. A politician who helps pass a lot of bills might be called a legislative virtuoso. A baseball player who hits a lot of home runs is a slugging virtuoso. Usually, this word applies to music. It's very common for a talented pianist or guitarist to be called a virtuoso. Whatever your talent, it's a huge compliment to be called a virtuoso.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

virtuoso virtuosi virtuosos

The aim is presumptuous, but John is a real virtuoso, and his family has invested its future in the boy’s eventual success.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

There is still plenty of Dickensian melodrama, especially when Livia relates the sequence of catastrophes that account for her transformation from a virtuoso with dreams of stardom to a small-town piano teacher and farmer’s wife.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Alexander Isak was the £125m striker who finally arrived at Liverpool by tormenting Ipswich Town - while Cody Gakpo's virtuoso performance had them giving thanks he never left.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

Eblis is definitely the virtuoso component of this marriage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Nevertheless, Aureliano Segundo became a virtuoso on the accordion and he still was after he had married and had children and was one of the most respected men in Macondo.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Paradoxically this most Australian of scientists probably could not have flourished in his native country, with its passion for putting ambitious virtuosi in their place—also known as “cutting down the tall poppies.”

From Scientific American ● May 26, 2020

The Jeffrey Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation once claimed, in a press release, to have provided “substantial backing” for Edge, which is there described as a “treasure trove of over 660 virtuosi, geniuses, and masterminds.”

From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2019

In the wake of these tragedies, the stunt community, a close-knit crew of thrill-seekers and physical virtuosi, grieved collectively, forced to consider the existential brinkmanship of the profession.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 18, 2017

This weekend he’ll take that premise to a grander setting, working with two younger virtuosi, the clarinetist Anat Cohen and the guitarist Julian Lage.

From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2016

These four instruments are considered by most of the virtuosi, to be probably the finest examples extant of this great master.

From Violins and Violin Makers Biographical Dictionary of the Great Italian Artistes, their Followers and Imitators, to the present time. With Essays on Important Subjects Connected with the Violin. by J. H. (Joseph Henry) Pearce

And while this isn’t a band of virtuosos, they are artists who figured out how to create something beguiling and bracingly original.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

The wider public discovered Monroe, sporting long braided hair, in a TV talent show dedicated to young classical music virtuosos.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

They were accompanied by vocal virtuosos Lucius and blues-rock rippers Judith Hill and Eric Krasno, each fixtures in the local music community trying to rebuild itself in the wake of the Eaton fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026

In the 20th century, white artists like Earl Scruggs, who popularized the bluegrass genre were largely seen as banjo virtuosos for their unique playing style.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2024

Stroke victims who have lost the ability to speak, for example, are virtuosos, because their infirmity has forced them to become far more sensitive to the information written on people’s faces.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• magician
• musician
• prodigy