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cello

1 American  
[chel-oh] / ˈtʃɛl oʊ /

noun

plural

cellos

  1. the second largest member of the violin family, rested vertically on the floor between the performer's knees when being played.

cello 2 American  
[sel-oh] / ˈsɛl oʊ /

noun

Informal.

  1. cellophane.

cello British  
/ ˈtʃɛləʊ /

noun

  1. Full name: violoncello.  music a bowed stringed instrument of the violin family. Range: more than four octaves upwards from C below the bass staff. It has four strings, is held between the knees, and has an extendible metal spike at the lower end, which acts as a support

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
cello Cultural  

  1. An instrument in the violin family, known for its rich tone. Among the strings, or stringed instruments, the cello has the second-lowest range, higher only than the bass viol, and it has the lowest part in string quartets. Cellists hold the instrument between their knees to play it. Cello is short for violoncello.

Other Word Forms

  • cellist noun

Etymology

Origin of cello1

First recorded in 1875–80; short for violoncello

Origin of cello2

By shortening

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.