ENSEMBLE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does ensemble mean? 

• ENSEMBLE (noun)
  The noun ENSEMBLE has 5 senses:

1. a group of musicians playing or singing together

2. a cast other than the principals

3. the chorus of a ballet company

4. an assemblage of parts or details (as in a work of art) considered as forming a whole

5. a coordinated outfit (set of clothing)

  Familiarity information: ENSEMBLE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ENSEMBLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A group of musicians playing or singing together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

a string ensemble

Hypernyms ("ensemble" is a kind of...):

musical group; musical organisation; musical organization (an organization of musicians who perform together)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ensemble"):

gamelan (a traditional Indonesian ensemble typically including many tuned percussion instruments including bamboo xylophones and wooden or bronze chimes and gongs)

jug band (a musical group that uses jugs and washboards and kazoos and other improvised instruments)

pop group (a group that plays pop music)

mariachi (a group of street musicians in Mexico)

skiffle group (a band of musicians who play skiffle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A cast other than the principals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

ensemble; supporting players

Hypernyms ("ensemble" is a kind of...):

cast; cast of characters; dramatis personae (the actors in a play)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The chorus of a ballet company

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

corps de ballet; ensemble

Hypernyms ("ensemble" is a kind of...):

chorus; chorus line (a body of dancers or singers who perform together)

Holonyms ("ensemble" is a member of...):

ballet company (a company that produces ballets)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An assemblage of parts or details (as in a work of art) considered as forming a whole

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

ensemble; tout ensemble

Hypernyms ("ensemble" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Domain category:

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A coordinated outfit (set of clothing)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("ensemble" is a kind of...):

getup; outfit; rig; turnout (a set of clothing (with accessories))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ensemble"):

sailor suit (a boy's ensemble; copied from a sailor's uniform)

 Context examples 

One example of this is the pattern of expression of Hox genes, an ensemble of genes that are expressed in a precise sequential order in the embryo and act as landmarks for different aspects of the body, including the position of different vertebrae or of limbs.

(Scientists develop mouse ‘embryo-like structures’ with organisation along body’s major axes, University of Cambridge)