sonata form

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A form of a movement consisting of three sections, the exposition, development, and recapitulation, often followed by a coda.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun music A form of classical music consisting of a single movement divided into three main sections, namely - the exposition (in the tonic and then another key), development (modulating in different keys) and recapitulation (returning to the tonic), sometimes followed by a coda

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a musical form having 3 sections -- exposition and development and recapitulation; characteristic of 1st movement of a sonata or symphony