Definition of "mezzo-soprano" []

• A voice having a range between soprano and contralto. (noun)
• A vocal part calling for a voice having such a range. (noun)
• Music A woman having a mezzo-soprano voice. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Lamenting the temperature in the stuffy hall at one point, she confided to the audience, "I'm sweating my bazooms off" - then, in response to the general surprise, helpfully explained, "That's what you call a mezzo-soprano's breasts.""
• "The second historic recital took place in February 1962, when mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry became the first African American opera singer to perform at the White House."
• "On Feb. 1, an equally celebrated African American mezzo-soprano, Denyce Graves, will sing selections from Bumbry's 1962 performance."