DictionaryAI

song

noun
SAWNG/sɔŋ/UKSONG/sɒŋ/

Pluralsongs

6 meanings of song

Practice

  1. 1
    music with wordsnouncountable
    A short piece of music, usually with words meant to be sung, though loosely also one without words.

    The band closed their set with a song everyone knew by heart.

    Her new song topped the charts within a week.

    UsageYou listen to a song (not incorrect: listen a song). A song is on the radio or on an album.

    Similartune, number, track

    Note

    Strictly it has words, unlike a tune or melody, though loosely any short piece of music can be called a song.

  2. 2
    animal soundnouncountable or uncountable
    The musical sounds made by a bird, insect, whale, or other animal, especially a bird's call to attract a mate or mark territory.

    Researchers recorded the humpback's song over several nights at sea.

    The cricket's song filled the warm summer air outside the cabin.

    UsageOften used with of or a possessive: the song of a robin, a whale's song.

  3. 3
    vocal musicnoununcountable
    The activity or art of producing music with the human voice.

    The congregation joined in song to close the service.

    He was so happy that he broke into song on the way home.

    UsageNo a in set phrases: burst into song, break into song, join in song.

    Similarsinging

    Note

    By 1884 Spencer Leigh Hughes could already tease the enthusiast who dwells on birds "bursting into song" alongside buds bursting into flower. That shows how settled the phrase had become.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The attributed passage juxtaposes birds “bursting into song” with buds bursting into flower. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    low pricenounusually singular
    A price far below an item's expected value, used chiefly in the phrase "for a song."

    The painting later sold for millions, but she had picked it up for a song.

    We snagged the lakeside cabin for a song because it needed repairs.

    UsageUsed with verbs of buying or selling: buy, get, or pick something up for a song.

    Similarpittance, trifle

    Oppositefortune

    Note

    Benjamin Silliman wrote in 1810 that a common soldier's "pay is a song," and Marie Belloc Lowndes, in The Lodger (1913), has curtains that "cost a mere song."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  2. 5
    poetrynouncountable
    A work of poetry; a poetical composition or verse.
    This subject for heroic song.
    1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost
    The bard that first adorned our native tongue / Tuned to his British lyre this ancient song.
    1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”

    Similarpoetry, verse, poem

    Oppositeprose

    Note

    Poets use the word for their own art, with no music implied. Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) speaks of a "subject for heroic song," and Dryden in 1700 calls the Knight's Tale "this ancient song."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. en.wiktionary.org
    • Paradise Lost contains the words "subject for heroic song." en.wikisource.org
    • Dryden's relevant work was published in 1700. en.wikipedia.org
    • Dryden calls the Knight's Tale "this ancient song" in his verse dedication preceding Palamon and Arcite. gutenberg.org
  3. 6
    nounobsoletecountable or uncountable
    A person or thing held up to mockery; a laughing stock.
    And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
    1611, The Holy Bible, King James Version
    Note

    This meaning is obsolete, and its memorable instance is the King James Bible of 1611: "And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword." The pairing with byword makes the idea clear: to be someone's song is to be what they sing about in mockery.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of song apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English "song" or "sang," from Old English "sang," going back to Proto-Germanic *sangwaz ("singing, song") and ultimately the Proto-Indo-European root *sengʷʰ- ("to sing"). It is related to Dutch "zang," German "Sang," and Swedish "sång," and connects to the word "sing."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts