muzak
muzak — noun
1. a trade name for soft background music that businesses keep playing in places li
a trade name for soft background music that businesses keep playing in places like lifts, hotel lobbies, and shops to create a calm mood
The hotel lobby played muzak all afternoon while guests waited to check in.
play + muzak + in [public place]
Lara laughed when the lift's muzak switched from jazz to Christmas songs.
muzak in lifts and other shared spaces
Roya turned down the cafe's muzak so customers could hear each other.
turn down + the muzak
The airport lounge used soft muzak to make tired travellers feel calmer.
Gabriel hates muzak because every shop ends up sounding exactly the same.
- play muzak
- soft muzak
- lift muzak
- hotel-lobby muzak
- turn down the muzak
- muzak in the shop
- background music
the neutral general term; it can describe any music played behind another activity
- elevator music
more humorous and more strongly suggests bland, soothing music in shared spaces
- easy listening
a music style label rather than a specific system of continuous public background music
Grammar Patterns
play + muzak
turn down + the muzak
muzak + in [public place]
Usage Note
Muzak often suggests bland or overly cheerful background music in commercial spaces, not music that someone actively chooses to hear for pleasure. The word is usually uncountable.