art form

American  

noun

1. the more or less established structure, pattern, or scheme followed in shaping an artistic work.

   The sonata, the sonnet, and the novel are all art forms.

2. a medium for artistic expression.

   ballet, sculpture, opera, and other art forms.

3. a medium other than the artistic regarded as having highly developed or systematized rules, procedures, or formulations.

   international diplomacy regarded as an art form.

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art form British  

noun

1. a conventionally established form of artistic composition, such as the symphony or the sonnet

2. a recognized medium of artistic expression

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Etymology

Origin of art form

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

"Opera has the potential to be a valid, living, contemporary art form which draws upon so many other different types of art, design, action, other types of music, different types of performance," said Thomas.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

An ACE spokesperson acknowledged the importance of live comedy, adding: "It is an art form which we are proud to support especially given the range of audiences it reaches."

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

Such was the case for “Start Over,” a dizzying homage to the rave music Day considers its own art form.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

But representatives of the art form have a duty to swallow their fear of misspeaking.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

They have made an art form out of grammatical yet unparsable sentences: The horse raced past the barn fell.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker