English Reference

Word

quintet

Phoneticsquin·tet

US/kwɪnˈtɛt/

UK/kwɪntˈɛt/

Definition

n. a group of five people or things. You usually hear this word when talking about a small musical group or a set of five related items.

n. a group of five people or things. Often used in musical contexts to describe an ensemble or in general contexts to refer to a set of five related items.

Examples

“The jazz quintet played a great set last night.”

“The museum's collection includes a rare quintet of ancient coins from the same period.”

“While a quartet is the most common ensemble for string instruments, a quintet allows for a richer harmonic texture and more complex counterpoint in the performance.”

Examples

simple

“The jazz quintet played a great set last night.”

contextual

“The museum's collection includes a rare quintet of ancient coins from the same period.”

complex

“While a quartet is the most common ensemble for string instruments, a quintet allows for a richer harmonic texture and more complex counterpoint in the performance.”

Real-World Examples

“Written a decade after the death of the original author, The Golden Hours by Louisa Young adds a sixth to this quintet.”
The Guardian · 4 Sept 2026
“Batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal have previous Test experience and join the quintet of uncapped newcomers.”
BBC News · 31 Aug 2026

Etymology

From French quintette, from Italian quintetto, diminutive of quinto (“fifth”), itself from Latin quintus, related to quīnque (“five”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related words

Domain

Music

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference