soundtrack

The word “soundtrack” means the music and sound recorded for a film, show, or game. In plain terms, the music that goes with a film, game, or moment — or the act of providing that music.

“Soundtrack” is pronounced SOWND-trak (/ˈsaʊndˌtɹæk/ in IPA).

Here is “soundtrack” used in a sentence: “The movie's soundtrack won an award for best original score.”

Depending on how it is used, “soundtrack” can be a noun and a verb.

“Soundtrack” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Soundtrack” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the music and sound recorded for a film, show, or game.

A score is the original instrumental music composed specifically for a film, while a soundtrack is the broader collection of music and sound in the production, which can include songs, the score, and licensed tracks. Every score is part of the soundtrack, but not every soundtrack is only a score.

A soundtrack is the set of music officially recorded or chosen for a film, show, or game, whereas a playlist is any personal collection of songs a listener assembles. A soundtrack is tied to a specific production; a playlist is not.

In its full technical sense, the soundtrack is the recorded audio of a production, which can include music, dialogue, and sound effects. In everyday use, however, "soundtrack" usually refers just to the music released alongside a film, show, or game.

Soundtrack often appears in phrases like soundtrack album, movie soundtrack, game soundtrack, and original soundtrack, abbreviated OST. It is closely associated with films, television shows, and video games.