Meanings
alto1
- A musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody.
Synonyms: contratenor altus, high countertenor
- A person or musical instrument that performs the alto part.
- colloquialentertainmentAn alto saxophone.
Alto2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveof or being the lowest female voice
adjectiveof or being the highest male voice; having a range above that of tenor
adjective(of a musical instrument) second highest member of a group
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
alto · noun
- Italianalto“high”
- Englishalto
Borrowed from Italian alto (“high”). Doublet of old.
More words from Italian
Full word history & related roots →Alto · proper noun
- Spanishalto
- EnglishAlto
Borrowed from Spanish alto.
More words from Spanish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic ألتو
- ألتوmusical part
Bulgarian алт, алт
- алт (alt)musical part
- алт (alt)person or instrument
Chinese Mandarin 中音
- 中音 (zhōngyīn)musical part
Czech alt, alt
- altmusical part
- altperson or instrument
Dutch alt, alt
- altmusical part
- altperson or instrument
Finnish altto, altto
- alttomusical part
- alttoperson or instrument
French alto
- altomusical part
German Alt, Alt
- Altmusical part
- Altperson or instrument
Greek κοντράλτο
- κοντράλτο (kontrálto)musical part
Hawaiian leo wahine, ʻaeko
- leo wahineperson or instrument
- ʻaekoperson or instrument
Hungarian alt
- altmusical part
Irish alt, cuach
- altmusical part
- cuachmusical part
Italian contralto
- contraltoperson or instrument
Japanese アルト, アルト
- アルト (aruto)musical part
- アルト (aruto)person or instrument
Korean 알토, 여성저음
- 알토 (alto)musical part
- 여성저음 (yeoseongjeo'eum)musical part
- 녀성저음 (nyeoseongjeo'eum)musical part
- 알토 (alto)person or instrument
Māori reo pekerangi, kaiwaiata pekerangi
- reo pekerangimusical part
- kaiwaiata pekerangiperson or instrument
Polish alt, alt
- altmusical part
- altperson or instrument
- alcistaperson or instrument
- alcistkaperson or instrument
- altystaperson or instrument
- altystkaperson or instrument
Portuguese contralto, contralto
- contraltomusical part
- contraltoperson or instrument
Russian альт, альт
- альт (alʹt)musical part
- альт (alʹt)person or instrument
Spanish alto, contralto
- altomusical part
- contraltomusical part
Swedish alt, alt
- altmusical part
- altperson or instrument
Ukrainian альт
- альт (alʹt)musical part
Vietnamese người hát giọng nữ trầm, đàn antô
- người hát giọng nữ trầmperson or instrument
- đàn antôperson or instrument
- kèn antôperson or instrument
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with alto
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
alto. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alto
“alto.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alto. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alto,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alto.
Source: alto on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.