symphony

UK: /ˈsɪmfəni/ US: /ˈsɪmfəni/ ,(sim′fə nē)

Inflections of 'symphony' (n): npl: symphonies

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

sym•pho•ny /ˈsɪmfəni/   n. [countable] , pl. -nies. 

1. Music and Dance a long musical composition for a large orchestra, usually having four parts or movements.
2. anything having a harmonious or pleasing combination of elements or parts:
   a symphony of color.

sym•phon•ic /sɪmˈfɑnɪk/  adj. See -phon-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

sym•pho•ny  (sim′fə nē), n., pl. -nies. 

1. Music and Dance
   • an elaborate instrumental composition in three or more movements, similar in form to a sonata but written for an orchestra and usually of far grander proportions and more varied elements.
   • an instrumental passage occurring in a vocal composition, or between vocal movements in a composition.
   • an instrumental piece, often in several movements, forming the overture to an opera or the like.
2. Music and Dance See symphony orchestra. 
3. Music and Dance a concert performed by a symphony orchestra.
4. anything characterized by a harmonious combination of elements, esp. an effective combination of colors.
5. harmony of sounds.
6. [Archaic.] agreement;
   concord.

• Greek symphōnía harmony. See sym-, -phony
• Latin symphōnia concert
• Old French symphonie
• Middle English symfonye 1250–1300

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

symphony / ˈsɪmfənɪ/ noun ( -nies)

1. an extended large-scale orchestral composition, usually with several movements, at least one of which is in sonata form. The classical form of the symphony was fixed by Haydn and Mozart, but the innovations of subsequent composers have freed it entirely from classical constraints. It continues to be a vehicle for serious, large-scale orchestral music
2. a piece of instrumental music in up to three very short movements, used as an overture to or interlude in a baroque opera
3. any purely orchestral movement in a vocal work, such as a cantata or oratorio
4. short for symphony orchestra
5. (in musical theory, esp of classical Greece)
   another word for consonance3
6. anything distinguished by a harmonious composition: the picture was a symphony of green
7. harmony in general; concord

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French symphonie, from Latin symphōnia concord, concert, from Greek sumphōnia, from syn- + phōnē sound

symphonic / sɪmˈfɒnɪk/ adjective

symˈphonically adverb