violin

UK: /ˌvaɪəˈlɪn/ US: /ˌvaɪəˈlɪn/ ,(vī′ə lin′)

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

vi•o•lin /ˌvaɪəˈlɪn/   n. [countable]

1. Music and Dance a four-stringed instrument played with a bow and held nearly horizontal by the player's arm with the lower part supported against the collarbone.

vi•o•lin•ist, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

vi•o•lin  (vī′ə lin′), n. 

1. Music and Dance the treble instrument of the family of modern bowed instruments, held nearly horizontal by the player's arm with the lower part supported against the collarbone or shoulder.
2. Music and Dance a violinist or part for a violin.

• Italian violino, equivalent. to viol(a) (see viola¹) + -ino diminutive suffix
• 1570–80

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

violin / ˌvaɪəˈlɪn/ noun

1. a bowed stringed instrument, the highest member of the violin family, consisting of a fingerboard, a hollow wooden body with waisted sides, and a sounding board connected to the back by means of a soundpost that also supports the bridge. It has two f-shaped sound holes cut in the belly. The instrument, noted for its fine and flexible tone, is the most important of the stringed instruments. It is held under the chin when played. Range: roughly three and a half octaves upwards from G below middle C

Etymology: 16th Century: from Italian violino a little viola, from viola¹