- 1widely accepted and used for a long time; traditional in style or idea the classical economics of Smith and Ricardo the classical theory of unemployment classical and modern ballet
- 2connected with or influenced by the culture of ancient Greece and Rome classical studies a classical scholar (= an expert in Latin and Greek) classical architecture
- 3(of music) written in a Western musical tradition, usually using an established form (for example a symphony), and not played on electronic instruments. Classical music is generally considered to be serious and to have lasting value He plays classical music, as well as rock and jazz. a classical composer/violinist Topic CollocationsMusiclistening
- listen to/enjoy/love/ (informal) be into music/classical music/jazz/pop/hip-hop, etc.
- listen to the radio/an MP3 player/a CD
- put on/play a CD/a song/some music
- turn down/up the music/radio/volume/bass
- go to a concert/festival/gig/performance/recital
- copy/burn/rip music/a CD/a DVD
- download music/an album/a song/a demo/a video
- play a musical instrument/the piano/percussion/a note/a riff/the melody/a concerto/a duet/by ear
- sing an anthem/a ballad/a solo/an aria/the blues/in a choir/soprano/alto/tenor/bass/out of tune
- hum a tune/a theme song/a lullaby
- accompany a singer/choir
- strum a chord/guitar
- form/start/join/quit/leave a band
- (informal) get/put a band together
- give a performance/concert/recital
- do a concert/recital/gig
- play a concert/gig/festival/venue
- perform a concert/(live) in concert
- appear at a festival/live
- go on/embark on a (world) tour
- write/compose music/a ballad/a melody/a tune/a song/a theme song/an opera/a symphony
- land/get/sign a record deal
- be signed to/be dropped by a record company
- record/release/put out an album/a single/a CD
- be on top of/top the charts
- get to/go straight to/go straight in at/enter the charts at number one
- 4= classic These are classical examples of food allergy.
- 5(of a language) ancient in its form and no longer used in a spoken form classical Arabic
- 6simple and attractive the classical elegance of the design
NAmE//ˈklæsɪkli//
adverb Her face is classically beautiful. Classically, pregnant women start to “nest” shortly before the baby is born. a classically trained singerSee classical in the Oxford Advanced Learner's DictionaryCheck pronunciation: classical