Violin

/ˌvaɪ.əˈlɪn/ · noun

Meaning

(music) A small unfretted stringed instrument with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) G-D-A-E, usually held against the chin and played with a bow..

Definitions by Sense

1. (music) A small unfretted stringed instrument with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) G-D-A-E, usually held against the chin and played with a bow.
2. (inexact, sometimes proscribed) Any instrument of the violin family, always inclusive of violins, violas and cellos, and sometimes further including the double bass.
3. (music, metonymic) A violinist in an orchestra or group.
4. (ambitransitive) To play on, or as if on, a violin.

Example Sentences

When I play it like this, it's a fiddle; when I play it like this, it's a violin.

She was looking more like Sherlock Holmes than ever. Slap a dressing-gown on her and give her a violin, and she could have walked straight into Baker Street and no questions asked.

The string quartet, one of the most popular groupings in chamber music, is composed entirely of violins: two violins proper, one viola, and one cello.

The violins are seated with sufficient elbow room.

She is first violin in the London Symphony Orchestra.

Synonyms for violin

Antonyms for violin

Related Words

Word Forms

• violins
• violining
• violined

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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