- 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 supportFull name: violoncello
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cel•lo1 /ˈtʃɛloʊ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. -los.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Music and Dancea musical instrument that is the second largest member of the violin family;
violoncello.
cel•lo1
(chel′ō),USA pronunciation n., pl. -los.
cel•lo2 (sel′ō),USA pronunciation n., adj. [Informal.]
- Music and Dancethe second largest member of the violin family, rested vertically on the floor between the performer's knees when being played. Also called violoncello.
- short for violoncello 1875–80
cel•lo2 (sel′ō),USA pronunciation n., adj. [Informal.]
- Informal Termscellophane.
- by shortening
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
cello /ˈtʃɛləʊ/ n ( pl -los)
'cello' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Bliss
- bow
- Casals
- continuo
- du Pré
- limoncello
- neck
- nut
- solo
- sonata
- sounding board
- string quartet
- tenor clef
- Thomson
- thorough bass
- tremolo
- viola
- violoncello
- wolf
- backup
- cellist
- dulcet
- f-hole
- fingerboard
- hard
- piano quartet
- throb