singer

Other forms: singers

A singer makes music with their voice. A singer may sing the lyrics, or words, of a song, or may just vocalize sounds like "la, la, la" or "tweet, tweet, tweet" in musical tones.

Singing is one of the oldest forms of musical expression. A singer may perform on stage for thousands of adoring fans, or for guests at an intimate wedding reception. Perhaps you are a singer who likes to sing in the shower or croon along with a recording of your favorite artist. There are pop singers, rock singers, and opera singers. Some singers have high-pitched, soprano voices, while others sing in lower-pitched, tenor voices. Many birds, known as songbirds, are singers, and so are some whales!

Definitions of singer

1. noun

   a person who sings
   synonyms: vocaliser, vocalist, vocalizer

   examples:

   Pearl Mae Bailey

   United States singer (1918-1990)

   Johnny Cash

   United States country music singer and songwriter (1932-2003)

   Maurice Chevalier

   French actor and cabaret singer (1888-1972)

   Maria Magdalene von Losch

   United States film actress (born in Germany) who made many films with Josef von Sternberg and later was a successful cabaret star (1901-1992)

   Bob Dylan

   United States songwriter noted for his protest songs (born in 1941)

   Ella Fitzgerald

   United States scat singer (1917-1996)

   Judy Garland

   United States singer and film actress (1922-1969)

   Lena Calhoun Horne

   United States singer and actress (born in 1917)

   Julio Iglesias

   Spanish singer noted for his ballads and love songs (born in 1943)

   Mahalia Jackson

   United States singer who did much to popularize gospel music (1911-1972)

   Michael Joe Jackson

   United States singer who began singing with his four brothers and later became a highly successful star during the 1980s (born in 1958)

   Asa Yoelson

   United States singer (born in Russia) who appeared in the first full-length talking film (1886-1950)

   Janis Joplin

   United States singer who died of a drug overdose at the height of her popularity (1943-1970)

   Riley B King

   United States guitar player and singer of the blues (born in 1925)

   Sir Harry MacLennan Lauder

   Scottish ballad singer and music hall comedian (1870-1950)

   Huddie Leadbetter

   United States folk singer and composer (1885-1949)

   Madonna Louise Ciccone

   United States pop singer and sex symbol during the 1980s (born in 1958)

   Robert Nesta Marley

   Jamaican singer who popularized reggae (1945-1981)

   Dino Paul Crocetti

   United States singer (1917-1995)

   Ethel Merman

   United States singer who appeared in several musical comedies (1909-1984)

   Roy Orbison

   United States composer and rockabilly tenor popular in the 1950s (1936-1988)

   Edith Giovanna Gassion

   French cabaret singer (1915-1963)

   Paul Bustill Robeson

   United States bass singer and an outspoken critic of racism and proponent of socialism (1898-1976)

   Lillian Russell

   United States entertainer remembered for her roles in comic operas (1861-1922)

   Paul Simon

   United States singer and songwriter (born in 1942)

   Bessie Smith

   United States blues singer (1894-1937)

   Kathryn Elizabeth Smith

   United States singer noted for her rendition of patriotic songs (1909-1986)

   Barbra Joan Streisand

   United States singer and actress (born in 1942)

   Sarah Vaughan

   United States jazz singer noted for her complex bebop phrasing and scat singing (1924-1990)

   Ethel Waters

   United States actress and singer (1896-1977)

   Hiram King Williams

   United States country singer and songwriter (1923-1953)

   Tammy Wynetter Pugh

   United States country singer (1942-1998)

   types:

   alto

   a singer whose voice lies in the alto clef

   baritone, barytone

   a male singer

   bass, basso

   an adult male singer with the lowest voice

   canary

   a female singer

   caroler, caroller

   a singer of carols

   castrato

   a male singer who was castrated before puberty and retains a soprano or alto voice

   chorister

   a member of a singing group, especially in church

   contralto

   a woman singer having a contralto voice

   balladeer, crooner

   a singer of popular ballads

   folk singer, minstrel, poet-singer, troubadour

   a singer of folk songs

   hummer

   a singer who produces a tune without opening the lips or forming words

   lieder singer

   a singer of lieder

   madrigalist

   a singer of madrigals

   opera star, operatic star

   singer of lead role in an opera

   rapper

   someone who performs rap music

   rock star

   a famous singer of rock music

   songster

   a person who sings

   soprano

   a female singer

   tenor

   an adult male with a tenor voice

   thrush

   a woman who sings popular songs

   torch singer

   a singer (usually a woman) who specializes in singing torch songs

   voice

   (metonymy) a singer

   warbler

   a singer; usually a singer who adds embellishments to the song

   yodeler, yodeller

   a singer who changes register rapidly (popular is Swiss folk songs)

   choirboy

   a boy who sings in a choir

   coloratura, coloratura soprano

   a lyric soprano who specializes in coloratura vocal music

   countertenor

   a male singer with a voice above that of a tenor

   mezzo, mezzo-soprano

   a soprano with a voice between soprano and contralto

   diva, prima donna

   a distinguished female operatic singer; a female operatic star

   songstress

   a woman songster (especially of popular songs)

   type of:

   instrumentalist, musician, player

   someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession)