vocalist

[voh-kuh-list]

See more synonyms for vocalist on Thesaurus.com

noun

a singer.

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Origin of vocalist

First recorded in 1605–15; vocal + -ist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for vocalist

Contemporary Examples

I remember seeing Bobby Short, the great lounge pianist and vocalist, on Johnny Carson once.
Was The Beatles’ Music Really That Unique? Yeah, It Totally Was.
Michael Tomasky
February 2, 2014
He and three friends, including Dick Taylor, formed a blues band, and Jagger was the vocalist.
Speed Read: 11 Juiciest Bits From Philip Norman’s Biography of Mick Jagger
The Daily Beast
October 1, 2012
The MC was Queen Latifah and the vocalist of the live band she introduced was a new artist named Macy Gray.
Farewell to the King of Parties
Tina Brown
July 12, 2009

Historical Examples

At first he had thought but of the charming lady, the vocalist, and the recluse.
Doom Castle
Neil Munro
A young performer, vocalist or elocutionist, is often introduced at a luncheon.
Social Life
Maud C. Cooke
They were listening to a vocalist who happened to be Barby's favorite of the moment.
The Electronic Mind Reader
John Blaine
The vocalist, a Miss Byfield, did not arrive till after dinner.
Passing By
Maurice Baring
"But you see I am in bed, and cannot get up," remonstrated the vocalist.
History of the Opera from its Origin in Italy to the present Time
Henry Sutherland Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for vocalist

vocalist

noun

a singer, esp one who regularly appears with a jazz band or pop group

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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

Word Origin and History for vocalist

n.

1610s, "speaker;" 1834, "singer;" from vocal + -ist.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper