overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

piano.

A percussive keyboard musical instrument, usually ranging over seven octaves, with white and black colored keys, played by pressing these keys, causing hammers to strike strings.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpjænəʊ/UK/piˈænəʊ/UK/piˈænoʊ/Canada, US/piˈænɪː/US, dated, dialectal
  1. A percussive keyboard musical instrument, usually ranging over seven octaves, with white and black colored keys, played by pressing these keys, causing hammers to strike strings.

    The piano in his house takes up a lot of space.
    She has been taking lessons for many years and now plays piano very well.
Where this word comes from

Clipping of pianoforte, from Italian pianoforte, from piano (“soft”) + forte (“strong”). So named because it could produce a wide range of varied volumes note-by-note, in contrast to older keyboard instruments, notably the harpsichord. Doublet of llano, plain, plane, and plan.

verb/ˈpjænəʊ/UK/piˈænəʊ/UK/piˈænoʊ/Canada, US/piˈænɪː/US, dated, dialectal
  1. To play the piano.

  2. To move (the fingers) up and down on, similar to the motions of a pianist playing the piano.

  3. To equip with a piano.

Where this word comes from

Clipping of pianoforte, from Italian pianoforte, from piano (“soft”) + forte (“strong”). So named because it could produce a wide range of varied volumes note-by-note, in contrast to older keyboard instruments, notably the harpsichord. Doublet of llano, plain, plane, and plan.

adv/piˈɑːnəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpjɑːnəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/piˈænoʊ/Canada, General-American/piˈɑnoʊ/Canada, General-American
  1. Softly, as a dynamic in a piece of music.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Italian piano.

adj/piˈɑːnəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpjɑːnəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/piˈænoʊ/Canada, General-American/piˈɑnoʊ/Canada, General-American
  1. Soft, quiet.

  2. Gentle, soft, subdued.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Italian piano.

verb/piˈɑːnəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpjɑːnəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/piˈænoʊ/Canada, General-American/piˈɑnoʊ/Canada, General-American
  1. To become softer and less intense.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Italian piano.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

piano has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

piano studiopiano workshello, piano

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.