singing

singing — noun

1. the act or skill of producing music through your voice, especially when you form

1.nounA2
Definition

the act or skill of producing music through your voice, especially when you form words and a tune

Example

Mira loves singing in the shower every morning.

love + singing (verb + gerund object)

There was beautiful singing coming from the classroom next door.

there was + [adjective] + singing (existential construction)

Common collocations
  • singing lesson
  • singing teacher
  • singing voice
  • beautiful singing
  • group singing
  • singing competition
  • singing class
Synonyms
  • vocalization

    more technical or formal; used in music or speech science contexts rather than everyday conversation

  • chanting

    singing in a repeated, simple tune, often in a group or religious setting

  • crooning

    singing softly and gently, especially romantic or slow songs

  • humming

    making musical sounds with the lips closed, without forming words

Grammar Patterns

enjoy/love/learn/teach + singing

Usage Note

Singing is an uncountable noun, so it has no plural form. It is often used as the subject of a sentence ('Singing makes me happy') or after common verbs such as enjoy, love, learn, and teach.

Common Mistakes

I heard a beautiful singing.
I heard a beautiful song.
Singing is the activity; a song is the complete piece of music with words.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While these words all describe producing sound through the voice, they differ from singing in important ways. Chanting is the most restricted — it involves repeating a short phrase or syllable in a steady rhythm, often in religious or ceremonial contexts (e.g., monks chanting prayers). Humming is the simplest: the mouth stays closed, and no words are formed. Crooning is a soft, intimate style of singing associated with love songs and old-fashioned popular music; it suggests a gentle, quiet delivery. Vocalization is the most formal and covers any use of the voice to produce sound, including animal calls and speech exercises. For example, 'The class spent the morning humming the tune before they tried to sing the words,' and 'The choir moved from chanting the chorus to a full, melodic singing verse.'

chantinghumming ↗crooningvocalization

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • singing and dancing
  • singing together
  • singing along

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

The word singing comes from the Old English verb 'singan', meaning 'to sing', which can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic 'singwaną'. The suffix '-ing' was added to turn the verb into a noun that names the activity itself. This '-ing' ending is a common way in English to form nouns from verbs, as in 'running', 'reading', or 'dancing'.