sonata

noun

so·​na·​ta sə-ˈnä-tə 

: an instrumental musical composition typically of three or four movements in contrasting forms and keys

Examples of sonata in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Denk had previously, marvelously, recorded Ives’s two piano sonatas. —Oussama Zahr, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025

The program will pair J.S. Bach’s sonatas with Iyer’s compositions. —Mary Carole McCauley, Baltimore Sun, 10 Jan. 2025

Be open always to the world around you, and the sighting of a fox, say, or a Mozart sonata overheard on a neighbor’s radio, will be reason enough to revel. —airmail.news, 9 Sep. 2024

Two of Beethoven’s most philosophical, probing sonatas frame a suite of jazz, ragtime, and popular song — from Joplin to Nina Simone … Charles Ives didn’t just want to mix popular and classical music. —Jane Levere, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from sonare to sound, from Latin

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing sonata

• sonata form

Rhymes for sonata

• agata
• bharata
• cantata
• costata
• ephrata
• errata
• falcata
• mahratta
• regatta
• serrata
• stigmata
• striata

Kids Definition

sonata

noun

so·​na·​ta sə-ˈnät-ə 

: a piece of music written for instruments and usually having three or four main parts in different styles and different keys

Medical Definition

Sonata

trademark

So·​na·​ta sō-ˈnä-tə 

—used for a preparation of zaleplon