PIANO

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does piano mean? 

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

1. a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds

2. (music) low loudness

  Familiarity information: PIANO used as a noun is rare.

• PIANO (adjective)
  The adjective PIANO has 1 sense:

1. (used chiefly as a direction or description in music) soft; in a quiet, subdued tone

  Familiarity information: PIANO used as an adjective is very rare.

• PIANO (adverb)
  The adverb PIANO has 1 sense:

1. used as a direction in music; to be played relatively softly

  Familiarity information: PIANO used as an adverb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PIANO (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

forte-piano; piano; pianoforte

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

keyboard instrument (a musical instrument that is played by means of a keyboard)

percussion instrument; percussive instrument (a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by one object striking another)

stringed instrument (a musical instrument in which taut strings provide the source of sound)

Meronyms (parts of "piano"):

soft pedal (a pedal on a piano that moves the action closer to the strings and so soften the sound)

loud pedal; sustaining pedal (a pedal on a piano that lifts the dampers from the strings and so allows them to continue vibrating)

soundboard; sounding board ((music) resonator consisting of a thin board whose vibrations reinforce the sound of the instrument)

fall-board; fallboard (the hinged protective covering that protects the keyboard of a piano when it is not being played)

clavier; fingerboard; piano keyboard (a bank of keys on a musical instrument)

piano action (action consisting of a system of levers that move a felt hammer to strike the strings when a key is depressed)

keyboard (device consisting of a set of keys on a piano or organ or typewriter or typesetting machine or computer or the like)

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

grand; grand piano (a piano with the strings on a horizontal harp-shaped frame; usually supported by three legs)

mechanical piano; Pianola; player piano (a mechanically operated piano that uses a roll of perforated paper to activate the keys)

upright; upright piano (a piano with a vertical sounding board)

Derivation:

pianist (a person who plays the piano)

pianistic (skilled at or adapted for the piano)

pianistic (of or relating to the piano)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(music) low loudness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

pianissimo; piano

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

softness (a sound property that is free from loudness or stridency)

Domain category:

music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)

• PIANO (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(used chiefly as a direction or description in music) soft; in a quiet, subdued tone

Synonyms:

piano; soft

Context example:

the piano passages in the composition

Similar:

pianissimo; pianissimo assai ((chiefly a direction or description in music) very soft)

Antonym:

forte ((used chiefly as a direction or description in music) loud; with force)

• PIANO (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Used as a direction in music; to be played relatively softly

Synonyms:

piano; softly

Antonym:

forte (used as a direction in music; to be played relatively loudly)

Pertainym:

piano ((used chiefly as a direction or description in music) soft; in a quiet, subdued tone)

 Context examples 

I should think you might let me go, too, for Beth is fussing over her piano, and I haven't got anything to do, and am so lonely.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“She knows enough of the piano to teach it to her little sisters,” said Traddles.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

She was seated in a low settee under the shaded standard lamp by the piano.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"What can you do? Can you play on the piano?" A little.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

When you play the piano or hit a tennis ball you are activating the cerebellum.

(Cerebellar Disorders, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Next door there appeared to be a children’s party, for the merry buzz of young voices and the clatter of a piano resounded through the night.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Later, at the piano, she played for him, and at him, aggressively, with the vague intent of emphasizing the impassableness of the gulf that separated them.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It was as though, somewhere, a piano were playing and the actual notes were impinging on his ear-drums.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Heyer randomly assigned different musical instruments to different gases, forming a combination consisting of a saxophone, a piano, an upright bass and some percussion woodblocks.

(Does Our Galaxy Sound Like Funky Blues Music?, George Putic/VOA)

Well, well, ladies are the best judges; but James Benwick is rather too piano for me; and though very likely it is all our partiality, Sophy and I cannot help thinking Frederick's manners better than his.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)