Meaning & use
pop music
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Meanings
noununcountable
A style of music with catchy tunes and simple words, made for a wide audience and sold to many listeners.
Grammar: No plural and no article: say 'I like pop music', not 'a pop music' or 'pop musics'.
Patterns
- listen to pop music
- a pop music fan
- pop music charts
My little sister plays pop music in her room all day.
The station plays pop music in the morning and jazz at night.
He writes pop music that sounds simple but is hard to sing.
noununcountablebusiness
The commercial side of popular music, seen as an industry that produces hits and stars.
Grammar: Used when talking about the business or scene rather than one song; still no plural.
Patterns
- the pop music industry
- work in pop music
- the world of pop music
She has worked in pop music for twenty years as a producer.
The pop music industry changes faster than any other part of entertainment.
Critics say pop music today cares more about sales than about art.
Common combinations
- listen to pop music
- On the bus I listen to pop music to wake myself up.
- a pop music fan
- He is a pop music fan who knows every chart hit since 1990.
- the pop music charts
- Her single stayed at the top of the pop music charts for six weeks.
- mainstream pop music
- Mainstream pop music rarely uses odd time signatures.
- a pop music star
- The hotel was full of reporters waiting for the pop music star.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pop
- The short, informal form of the same thing; use it in speech and headlines, but 'pop music' sounds fuller and clearer in writing.
- popular music
- A broader, more formal term that also covers rock, hip-hop and other styles bought by large audiences, not just catchy chart songs.
- chart music
- Focuses on songs that are currently in the sales and streaming charts, whereas pop music can be any era.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: pop music or popular music? pop music or rock music?
pop music vs popular music
This is the wider category; pop music is one style inside it. All pop music is popular music, but not all popular music is pop.
pop music vs rock music
Rock usually has guitars and a heavier beat, while pop music is built around hooks and a smooth production sound.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'pop music' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Pop music' is uncountable, so it takes no article and no plural: 'She listens to pop music every morning.' Option An adds 'a', option C makes it plural, and option D uses 'the' as if it were one specific thing, which is not how we talk about the style in general.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pop music”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.