1
a
: a narrative composition in rhythmic verse suitable for singing
a ballad about King Arthur
b
: an art song accompanying a traditional ballad
2
: a simple song : air
3
: a popular song
especially
: a slow romantic or sentimental song
a ballad they danced to at their wedding reception
Examples of ballad in a Sentence
a haunting ballad about lost love and loneliness
Recent Examples on the Web
Sung in Portuguese, the nomadic, electronic-tinged guitar ballad is an homage to the bikers and deliver people of São Paulo, Brazil who risk their lives daily navigating the vast city on their motorcycles.
—
Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 26 June 2024
The Riveras loved corridos, a genre of Mexican ballads about drug trafficking, government corruption and other gritty topics, and sold CDs and cassettes at the Paramount swap meet before launching Cintas Acuario in the late 1980s.
—Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2024
What are the odds that the skinny girl with the crooked smile, the youngest of 14 children from a tiny town outside Montreal, would become world-renowned for her powerhouse vocals, breaking records and bringing audiences to tears with some of the century’s most memorable ballads?
—Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
The group usually plays a program of historic ballads and pop songs.
—Alex Haddon, The Indianapolis Star, 21 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ballad 
Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 26 June 2024
The Riveras loved corridos, a genre of Mexican ballads about drug trafficking, government corruption and other gritty topics, and sold CDs and cassettes at the Paramount swap meet before launching Cintas Acuario in the late 1980s.
—Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2024
What are the odds that the skinny girl with the crooked smile, the youngest of 14 children from a tiny town outside Montreal, would become world-renowned for her powerhouse vocals, breaking records and bringing audiences to tears with some of the century’s most memorable ballads?
—Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
The group usually plays a program of historic ballads and pop songs.
—Alex Haddon, The Indianapolis Star, 21 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ballad
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ballad.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ballad
Cite this Entry
“Ballad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballad. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ballad
noun
bal·lad
ˈbal-əd 
1
: a poem that tells a story of adventure, of romance, or of a hero, that is suitable for singing, and that usually has stanzas of four lines with a rhyme on the second and fourth lines
2
: a simple song
3
: a usually slow or sentimental popular song
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