ORCHESTRA

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does orchestra mean? 

• ORCHESTRA (noun)
  The noun ORCHESTRA has 2 senses:

1. a musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players

2. seating on the main floor in a theater

  Familiarity information: ORCHESTRA used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ORCHESTRA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("orchestra" is a kind of...):

musical group; musical organisation; musical organization (an organization of musicians who perform together)

Meronyms (parts of "orchestra"):

section (a division of an orchestra containing all instruments of the same class)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "orchestra"):

chamber orchestra (small orchestra; usually plays classical music)

string orchestra (an orchestra playing only stringed instruments)

philharmonic; symphony; symphony orchestra (a large orchestra; can perform symphonies)

Derivation:

orchestral (relating to or composed for an orchestra)

orchestrate (write an orchestra score for)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Seating on the main floor in a theater

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("orchestra" is a kind of...):

seating; seating area; seating room; seats (an area that includes places where several people can sit)

Holonyms ("orchestra" is a part of...):

house; theater; theatre (a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented)

 Context examples 

When the orchestra struck up a fresh dance, James would have led his fair partner away, but she resisted.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

As a symphony orchestra emits sound across an array of frequencies, the gravitational waves emitted by black holes occur at different frequencies and times, said lead author Karan Jani of Vanderbilt University.

(Observing 'black hole symphony' using gravitational wave astronomy, National Science Foundation)

It was almost as if the sound sprang up at the rising of his hand, just as the music of a great orchestra seems to leap under the bâton of the conductor.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He was James Smith, who conducted the orchestra at the old Imperial Theatre.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She must have been in your own circle; for as you went with Lady Dalrymple, you were in the seats of grandeur, round the orchestra, of course.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

That was splendid too; that is, the orchestra was, though I'd have enjoyed it more if those jumping-jacks had kept quiet or gone off the stage.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Even the unexpected fall of the Duke of Durham into the orchestra, which occurred at this moment, could not distract the petrified attention of the vast audience.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I'd give anything to hear them in concert, and I'd give even a bit more not to hear them when the orchestra is playing.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It seemed as if she had been one moment too late; and as long as she dared observe, he did not look again: but the performance was recommencing, and she was forced to seem to restore her attention to the orchestra and look straight forward.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

There was a turmoil in the audience—someone screamed, two ladies in the front row fell senseless from their chairs, and there was a general movement upon the platform to follow their chairman into the orchestra.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)