semi·tonic
: of, relating to, or consisting of semitones
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Get Musical With the Definition of Semitone
A semitone (sometimes called a half tone or a half step) is the distance from a white key to a neighboring black key on the piano keyboard—for example, from G to G-sharp or from E to E-flat. In an octave (from G to the next G above, for instance), there are twelve semitones. Semitones are the smallest intervals that are used intentionally in almost any of the music you'll normally hear. Two semitones equal a whole tone—the distance from G up to A or from E down to D, for example.
Examples of semitone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Justin Davidson, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
There is, however, a harmonic tension at the heart of the conception, as semitone dissonances pierce the texture in almost every bar—F against E, D-sharp against E, C against B. As one of these twinges is resolved, another intrudes.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
According to the team’s findings, 45-percent of recordings had a pitch error of 0 semitones, while nearly 69-percent of volunteers remained within just 1 semitone of the song in their heads.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Aug. 2024
The solution was to realize that I wasn’t limited to the Casio’s conventional scale arrangement of octaves and semitones.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Sep. 2016
Being off by more than a half semitone (50 cents) is considered poor singing.
—James Dziezynski, Discover Magazine, 22 June 2014
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Noun
Fifths aren’t perfect and semitones are slightly off to prevent the keyboard from getting more jangly in some keys than in others.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
There is, however, a harmonic tension at the heart of the conception, as semitone dissonances pierce the texture in almost every bar—F against E, D-sharp against E, C against B. As one of these twinges is resolved, another intrudes.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
According to the team’s findings, 45-percent of recordings had a pitch error of 0 semitones, while nearly 69-percent of volunteers remained within just 1 semitone of the song in their heads.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Aug. 2024
The solution was to realize that I wasn’t limited to the Casio’s conventional scale arrangement of octaves and semitones.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Sep. 2016
Being off by more than a half semitone (50 cents) is considered poor singing.
—James Dziezynski, Discover Magazine, 22 June 2014
Cite this Entry
“Semitone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semitone. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
semitone
noun
semi·tone
ˈsem-i-ˌtōn 
ˈsem-ˌī-
: the smallest difference in pitch between any two tones of a scale
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