mp3

noun

A digital sound recording in MP3 format; a song file.

Meanings

mp31

nounmp3 (plural mp3s)

plural mp3s

  1. Alternative letter-case form of MP3.

MP32

nounMP3 (plural MP3s)

plural MP3s

  1. A digital sound recording in MP3 format; a song file.

    I should download her audio on MP3 / And show the whole world how you gave Eminem VD

    2000, “The Real Slim Shady”, in The Marshall Mathers LP, performed by Eminem
proper noun
  1. audio file formatMPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, an audio data compression format.

    Also, mpeg audio streams are usually identified by mp1, mp2 and mp3 extensions, all from MPEG-1 (layer 1 , 2 or 3).

    1994 November 6, Francois Dion, “Does anyone know of .mpa to .wav conversion software.”, in comp.multimedia (Usenet)
    1 more example

    A smartphone is not the best camera, notebook, word processor, audio recorder, radio, MP3 player, map reader, pedometer and so on, but it is good enough replace numerous separate devices for most people most of the time.

    2019 June 27, Jack Schofield, “What’s the best cheap tablet or e-reader for PDF files?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2023

Origin

Initialism of MPEG Audio Layer 3. First use appears c. 1994. See cite below.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic إِم بِي ثْرِي, إم بي 3
  • إِم بِي ثْرِي (ʔem bī ṯrī)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • إم بي 3 (ʔem bī ṯrī)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • إم بي 3 (ʔem bī ṯalāṯa)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • إم بي ٣ (ʔem bī ṯrī)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • إم بي ٣ (ʔem bī ṯalāṯa)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • MP3 (ʔem bī ṯrī)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • MP3 (ʔem bī ṯalāṯa)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • إِم بِي ثَلَاثَة (ʔem bī ṯalāṯa)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Chinese Mandarin MP3
  • MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Czech MP3
  • MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Dutch mp3
  • mp3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Finnish MP3
  • MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
German MP3 (emm-pee-drei)
  • MP3 (emm-pee-drei)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Greek έμ-πι-θρί, έμ-πι-τρία
  • έμ-πι-θρί (ém-pi-thrí)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • έμ-πι-τρία (ém-pi-tría)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Hindi एम् पी ३, एम् पी थ्री
  • एम् पी ३ (em pī 3)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • एम् पी थ्री (em pī thrī)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Japanese エムピースリー, MP3 (MP3)
  • エムピースリー (emu-pī-surī)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • MP3 (MP3)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Korean 엠피쓰리, MP3
  • 엠피쓰리 (empisseuri)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Persian امپیتری
  • امپیتری (em-pi-teri)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Polish MP3
  • MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Portuguese MP3
  • MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Russian эм-пи-три́, MP3
  • эм-пи-три́ (em-pi-trí)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Thai เอ็มพีสาม, เอ็มพี๓
  • เอ็มพีสาม (em pee săam)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • เอ็มพี๓ (em pee săam)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • เอ็มพี 3 (em pee săam)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • MP3 (MP3)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Turkish MP3 (em-pi-üç)
  • MP3 (em-pi-üç)MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
Cite this entry
APA

mp3. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mp3

MLA

“mp3.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mp3. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mp3,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mp3.

Source: mp3 on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.