noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈsɪm.fə.ni/
[ˈsɪɱ.fə.nɪi̯]
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:S IH1 M F AH0 N IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An extended piece of music of sophisticated structure, usually for orchestra.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
classical symphony
compose a symphony
full symphony orchestra
The orchestra performed Beethoven’s Fifth symphony.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
An instrumental introduction or termination to a vocal composition.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Harmony in music or colour, or a harmonious combination of elements.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
She described the city at night as a symphony of lights and sounds.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A symphony orchestra.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, countable, informal, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
a long and complex sonata for symphony orchestra
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: symphonic music
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sonata
6
noun
Meaning 6
a large orchestra; can perform symphonies
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
we heard the Vienna symphony
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: symphony orchestra, philharmonic
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: orchestra
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱómder.? Proto-Indo-European *sem-der.? Proto-Hellenic *ksún Ancient Greek σύν (sún) Ancient Greek σῠν- (sŭn-) Proto-Indo-European *bheh2-der. Proto-Hellenic *phōnā́ Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ) Ancient Greek -ος (-os) Ancient Greek σῠ́μφωνος (sŭ́mphōnos) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh2 Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) ▲ Ancient Greek σῠν- (sŭn-) ▲ Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ) ▲ Ancient Greek -ίᾱ (-íā) Ancient Greek -φωνίᾱ (-phōníā) Ancient Greek σῠμφωνῐ́ᾱ (sŭmphōnĭ́ā)der. Latin symphōniader. Old French simphonieder. Middle English symphonye English symphony From Middle English symphonye, from Old French simphonie, from Latin symphonia, from Ancient Greek συμφωνία (sumphōnía). By surface analysis, sym- + -phony. Doublet of sinfonia, symphonia, tsampouna, and zampogna.
Across languages
Translations
83 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
simfoni
— piece of orchestral music
Arabic:
سِيمْفُونِيَّة
(sīmfūniyya)
— piece of orchestral music
Arabic:
سِيمْفُونِي
(sīmfūnī)
— piece of orchestral music
Armenian:
սիմֆոնիա
(simfonia)
— piece of orchestral music
Armenian:
համանուագ
(hamanuag)
— piece of orchestral music
Azerbaijani:
simfoniya
— piece of orchestral music
Belarusian:
сімфо́нія
(simfónija)
— piece of orchestral music
Bengali:
সিম্ফনি
(śimphoni)
— piece of orchestral music
Bulgarian:
симфо́ния
(simfónija)
— piece of orchestral music
Burmese:
ဆင်ဖိုနီ
(hcanghpuini)
— piece of orchestral music
Catalan:
simfonia
— piece of orchestral music
Chinese Cantonese:
交響曲 /交响曲
(gaau1 hoeng2 kuk1)
— piece of orchestral music
Chinese:
交響曲 /交响曲
(zh-min-nan)
— piece of orchestral music
Chinese Mandarin:
交響曲 /交响曲
(jiāoxiǎngqǔ)
— piece of orchestral music
Czech:
symfonie
— piece of orchestral music
Danish:
symfoni
— piece of orchestral music
Dutch:
symfonie
— piece of orchestral music
Esperanto:
simfonio
— piece of orchestral music
Estonian:
sümfoonia
— piece of orchestral music
Farefare:
simfonia
— piece of orchestral music
Finnish:
sinfonia
— piece of orchestral music
French:
symphonie
— piece of orchestral music
Friulian:
sinfonie
— piece of orchestral music
Georgian:
სიმფონია
(simponia)
— piece of orchestral music
German:
Sinfonie
— piece of orchestral music
German:
Symphonie
— piece of orchestral music
Greek:
συμφωνία
(symfonía)
— piece of orchestral music
Hebrew:
סִימפוֹנִיָה
(simfónya)
— piece of orchestral music
Hindi:
सिंफ़नी
(sĩfanī)
— piece of orchestral music
Hindi:
सिम्फ़नी
(simfanī)
— piece of orchestral music
Hindi:
स्वर की समता
(svar kī samtā)
— piece of orchestral music
Hungarian:
szimfónia
— piece of orchestral music
Icelandic:
sinfónía
— piece of orchestral music
Irish:
siansa
— piece of orchestral music
Italian:
sinfonia
— piece of orchestral music
Japanese:
交響曲
(kōkyōkyoku)
— piece of orchestral music
Kazakh:
симфония
(simfoniä)
— piece of orchestral music
Khmer:
ស៊ីមហ្វូនី
(siimfounii)
— piece of orchestral music
Korean:
교향곡
(gyohyanggok)
— piece of orchestral music
Korean:
심포니
(simponi)
— piece of orchestral music
Northern Kurdish:
senfonî
— piece of orchestral music
Kyrgyz:
симфония
(simfoniya)
— piece of orchestral music
Latvian:
simfonija
— piece of orchestral music
Latvian:
simfōnija
— piece of orchestral music
Lithuanian:
simfonija
— piece of orchestral music
Macedonian:
симфонија
(simfonija)
— piece of orchestral music
Malay:
simfoni
— piece of orchestral music
Māori:
puoro tuatini
— piece of orchestral music
Mongolian:
симфони
(simfoni)
— piece of orchestral music
Mongolian:
ᠰᠢᠮᠹᠣᠨᠢ
(simfoni)
— piece of orchestral music
Norwegian Bokmål:
symfoni
— piece of orchestral music
Norwegian Nynorsk:
symfoni
— piece of orchestral music
Pashto:
سمفوني
(samfoni)
— piece of orchestral music
Pashto:
سيمفوني
(simfoni)
— piece of orchestral music
Persian:
سمفونی
(samfoni)
— piece of orchestral music
Piedmontese:
sinfonìa
— piece of orchestral music
Polish:
symfonia
— piece of orchestral music
Portuguese:
sinfonia
— piece of orchestral music
Punjabi:
ਸਿੰਫਨੀ
(simphnī)
— piece of orchestral music
Romanian:
simfonie
— piece of orchestral music
Russian:
симфо́ния
(simfónija)
— piece of orchestral music
Serbo-Croatian:
сѝмфо̄нија
— piece of orchestral music
Serbo-Croatian:
sìmfōnija
— piece of orchestral music
Slovak:
symfónia
— piece of orchestral music
Slovene:
simfonija
— piece of orchestral music
Spanish:
sinfonía
— piece of orchestral music
Swedish:
symfoni
— piece of orchestral music
Tajik:
симфония
(simfoniya)
— piece of orchestral music
Tatar:
симфония
(simfoniyä)
— piece of orchestral music
Thai:
ซิมโฟนี
(sim-foo-nîi)
— piece of orchestral music
Turkish:
senfoni
— piece of orchestral music
Turkmen:
simfoniýa
— piece of orchestral music
Ukrainian:
симфо́нія
(symfónija)
— piece of orchestral music
Urdu:
ہَم نَوائی
(ham-navāī)
— piece of orchestral music
Urdu:
سِمْفَنی
(simfanī)
— piece of orchestral music
Uyghur:
سىمفونىيە
(simfoniye)
— piece of orchestral music
Uzbek:
simfoniya
— piece of orchestral music
Vietnamese:
giao hưởng
— piece of orchestral music
Volapük:
sümfon
— piece of orchestral music
Volapük:
kobolestukot
— piece of orchestral music
Volapük:
cilasümfon
— piece of orchestral music
Welsh:
symffoni
— piece of orchestral music
Yiddish:
סימפֿאָניע
(simfonye)
— piece of orchestral music