Ballad

//ˈbæləd// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing; especially, a sentimental or romantic poem in short stanzas.

    "The poet composed a ballad praising the heroic exploits of the fallen commander."

  2. 2
    a narrative poem of popular origin wordnet
  3. 3
    A slow romantic song.

    "On Friday nights, the roller rink had a time-block called "Lovers' Lap" when they played nothing but ballads on the overhead speakers."

  4. 4
    a narrative song with a recurrent refrain wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To make mention of in ballads. obsolete
  2. 2
    To compose or sing ballads. intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
songalbaanacreonticanthemart songaubade

Example

More examples

"Having found a suitable human host, an ambitious Cuba Libre sang a beautiful ballad at the karaoke bar."

Etymology

From French ballade, from Old Occitan ballada (“poem for a dance”), from Late Latin ballare. Doublet of ballade.

Related phrases

ballad operaborder balladbothy balladbush balladmurder balladpower ballad

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.