What does "piano" mean?

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.

What is a synonym for "piano"?

Common synonyms include: cembalo, pianissimo, pianoforte, softly, a cappella, a la sourdine.

Piano

//piˈænoʊ// adj, adv, name, noun, verb

adj, adv, name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun

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."
2
a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds wordnet
3
(music) low loudness wordnet

Verb

1
To play the piano.
"Anyhow I pianoed to my own ear, and had no thought at that time for an audience."
2
To become softer and less intense.
"“You know, Mrs. Wrigglechops,” pianoed Miss Drucilla , even more meekly and mildly than before, "the ace is either one or eleven.""
3
To move (the fingers) up and down on, similar to the motions of a pianist playing the piano.
"He just stared at her, leaned back in his chair and pianoed his fingers along the tablecloth."
4
To equip with a piano.
"Other buildings will also be erected and pianoed by the same architect."

Adjective

1
Soft, quiet.
2
Gentle, soft, subdued.
"“Oh! yes, yes, there is not a word to be said against James Benwick[…]that soft sort of manner does not do him justice.”[…] “Well, well, ladies are the best judges; but James Benwick is rather too piano for me[…]”"

Adjective

1
(used chiefly as a direction or description in music) soft; in a quiet, subdued tone wordnet

Adverb

1
Softly, as a dynamic in a piece of music.
"(abbreviation) p"

Adverb

1
used as a direction in music; to be played relatively softly wordnet

Proper Noun

1
A surname from Italian.

Synonyms

All synonyms

cembalo pianissimo pianoforte softly a cappella a la sourdine

Antonyms

All antonyms

forte

Example

More examples

"My next door neighbor is a virtuoso whose skills with the piano have earned him a name among music experts."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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, and plane.

Etymology 2

From Italian piano.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Italian Piano.

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