album

The word “album” means a collection of music released together as one unit, usually enough to fill a full-length record or its digital equivalent. In plain terms, a collection of songs sold or released as one thing, or a book for keeping photos and mementos.

“Album” is pronounced AL-buhm (/ˈælbəm/ in IPA).

Here is “album” used in a sentence: “The band spent two years writing their second album.”

“Album” is a noun.

The word “album” comes from Latin. From Latin album, "a blank white tablet" — Roman officials used whitened boards like this to post public notices, from albus, "white.".

“Album” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Album” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a collection of music released together as one unit, usually enough to fill a full-length record or its digital equivalent.

A single is one song, sometimes two or three, released on its own, usually to promote or lead into a larger project. An album is a full collection, typically eight to fifteen tracks, meant to be experienced as one body of work. Singles are often pulled from the album they belong to.

An EP, or extended play, sits between a single and an album, usually carrying four to six songs. An album is longer and more complete, often running forty minutes or more. The line is loosely defined, but albums are treated as an artist's major statement, while EPs are shorter releases.

Common types include the studio album, recorded in a studio; the live album, captured at a concert; the compilation or greatest hits, gathering earlier tracks; and the concept album, built around a single theme or story. A debut album marks an artist's first full release.

Most albums hold roughly ten to fifteen songs, though there is no fixed rule. The traditional length grew from the capacity of vinyl records and later CDs. Streaming has loosened the format, so some modern albums run shorter, while others stretch well past twenty tracks.