soundtrack

soundtrack — noun

1. the music and other recorded sounds that accompany a film, television programme,

1.nounB1
Definition

the music and other recorded sounds that accompany a film, television programme, or video game; also, a commercial recording of songs from a film that people can buy or stream separately

Example

Noa bought the soundtrack from her favourite film and played it every evening.

collocation: buy/listen to the soundtrack

The soundtrack to the animated movie features songs by well-known artists from Brazil and Japan.

passive: the soundtrack to [film] features [songs]

Common collocations
  • original soundtrack
  • official soundtrack
  • film soundtrack
  • game soundtrack
  • buy/download/stream the soundtrack
  • release a soundtrack
  • soundtrack album
Synonyms
  • score

    refers specifically to the original instrumental music composed for a film, not songs with lyrics or dialogue

  • theme music

    a narrower term for the main recurring melody of a film or show, not the full collection of songs

  • sound recording

    a very general term for any captured audio; lacks the specific connection to film or media

Grammar Patterns

the soundtrack to [film/programme]

the soundtrack of [film/programme]

Usage Note

Frequently modified by a possessive or 'of'-phrase naming the film (e.g. 'the film's soundtrack', 'the soundtrack of Frozen'). Can also stand alone as a countable noun referring to the album release: 'I bought three soundtracks at the shop.'

Common Mistakes

The sound of that film is very powerful.
The soundtrack of that film is very powerful.
'soundtrack' is the specific word for a film's music and audio; 'sound' alone is too general.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A soundtrack is the broadest of these terms: it includes every piece of music, song, and sometimes dialogue or sound effects that appear in a film, TV show, or video game. A score (or film score) is a subset — the original instrumental music composed specifically to accompany scenes, typically without lyrics. Theme music is an even narrower subset: a short, recognisable melody (like the main tune of a TV series) that often recurs throughout a production. A sound recording is the most general category — any captured audio, whether from a film, a concert, or a voice memo. If you are talking about buying an album of songs from a movie, 'soundtrack' is the right word. If you mean the background instrumental music written to build tension in a scene, 'score' fits better.

score ↗theme musicsound recording

Common collocations

Nouns

  • soundtrack album
  • soundtrack release
  • soundtrack recording

Phrases

  • original soundtrack
  • official soundtrack
  • award-winning soundtrack
  • memorable soundtrack

Prepositions

  • soundtrack to
  • soundtrack of
  • soundtrack from

Etymology

Old EnglishOld FrenchEnglish

Formed by combining 'sound' (from Old English 'sund', meaning noise or audible vibration) and 'track' (from Old French 'trac', meaning path or footprint). The word was first used in the 1930s, when the film industry began recording sound on a narrow strip — the 'track' — running along the side of the film reel. By the 1950s it had expanded to mean any commercial recording of a film's music.