techno

techno — noun

1. a style of fast-paced club music made with synthesizers and drum machines, built

1.nounB1
Definition

a style of fast-paced club music made with synthesizers and drum machines, built around a steady, driving beat and repetitive patterns that usually have no singing

Example

Layla put on techno to wake herself up before her late shift at the hospital.

collocation: put on techno

Quinn had never listened to techno before, so the fast beat surprised her at first.

collocation: listen to techno

Common collocations
  • put on techno
  • listen to techno
  • play techno
  • produce techno
  • techno track
  • techno beat
  • techno music
  • techno club
Synonyms
  • electronic music

    a broader category that includes techno along with house, drum and bass, etc.

  • dance music

    a very broad term covering any music meant for dancing; less specific than techno

Grammar Patterns

techno + noun (techno music, techno track)

Usage Note

Used without an article: 'She likes techno', not 'a techno'. When referring to a specific piece, say 'a techno track' or 'a techno song'.

Common Mistakes

I listened to a techno on the radio.
I listened to techno on the radio.
techno is uncountable; use 'a techno track' for one song.
Techno are popular in Europe.
Techno is popular in Europe.
treat techno as a singular uncountable noun.

techno — prefix

techno — combining form

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Techno is a specific style within the broader category of electronic music. While 'electronic music' includes everything from ambient to drum and bass, techno is defined by its fast, steady four-on-the-floor beat and minimal, repetitive structure, often without vocals. 'House music' shares a similar beat pattern but tends to be slower and more melodic, with soul-influenced vocals and a warmer feel. 'EDM' (electronic dance music) is a popular umbrella term that overlaps with both techno and house but is frequently associated with large festival productions and mainstream pop-influenced sounds. For example, a DJ at a Berlin basement club playing a 130 BPM track with a looping synth line and no singing is playing techno; a DJ at a poolside resort playing a vocal-heavy track with a piano riff is playing house; and the main stage at a Las Vegas festival with confetti cannons and a pop-drop structure is EDM.

techno ↗electronic musicdance musichouse ↗EDM

Common collocations

Nouns

  • techno music
  • techno track
  • techno beat
  • techno scene
  • techno club
  • techno festival
  • techno producer
  • techno DJ

Phrases

  • put on techno
  • listen to techno
  • play techno
  • dance to techno
  • produce techno

Etymology

GreekEnglish

The word 'techno' is a short form of 'technology', first used in the 1980s to describe a new style of electronic dance music that relied heavily on synthesizers, drum machines, and other recording technology. The music genre name was popularized by the Detroit-based group Cybotron and the producer Juan Atkins, who mixed European electronic pop with African American funk and soul. The prefix and combining form uses trace back further to the Greek 'tekhnē' (skill, craft, art), but the musical sense is a 20th-century innovation.