absolute pitch
noun
1
: the position of a tone in a standard scale independently determined by its rate of vibration
2
: the ability to recognize or sing a given isolated note
called also perfect pitch
Examples of absolute pitch in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To test the accuracy of people’s average absolute pitch abilities, researchers utilized involuntary musical imagery, more commonly known as earworms.
—
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Aug. 2024
There are critical periods for walking, seeing, and hearing as well as bonding with parents, developing absolute pitch, and assimilating into a culture.
—WIRED, 15 June 2023
People with absolute pitch, those superpowered few, are thought to learn their pitches in childhood.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2013
Culasso excels in recording nature sounds, in part, for his memory and knack for absolute pitch, the rare ability to identify and recreate any musical note without a reference tone.
—Santiago Florez, Discover Magazine, 31 Aug. 2021
Hedger gathered 13 subjects who'd scored as high as possible on a test of absolute pitch.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2013
Joybubbles also had absolute pitch, and could whistle these tones into the phone to fool the computer into thinking the money had been paid for the call.
—Wired, 21 Nov. 2019
This had its limitations, and a few keen-eared researchers felt there was an advantage to Robert Hooke’s auditory approach – especially Olavi Sotavalta, an entomologist from Finland who had the rare gift of absolute pitch.
—Daniel A. Gross, Smithsonian, 25 Apr. 2017
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Aug. 2024
There are critical periods for walking, seeing, and hearing as well as bonding with parents, developing absolute pitch, and assimilating into a culture.
—WIRED, 15 June 2023
People with absolute pitch, those superpowered few, are thought to learn their pitches in childhood.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2013
Culasso excels in recording nature sounds, in part, for his memory and knack for absolute pitch, the rare ability to identify and recreate any musical note without a reference tone.
—Santiago Florez, Discover Magazine, 31 Aug. 2021
Hedger gathered 13 subjects who'd scored as high as possible on a test of absolute pitch.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2013
Joybubbles also had absolute pitch, and could whistle these tones into the phone to fool the computer into thinking the money had been paid for the call.
—Wired, 21 Nov. 2019
This had its limitations, and a few keen-eared researchers felt there was an advantage to Robert Hooke’s auditory approach – especially Olavi Sotavalta, an entomologist from Finland who had the rare gift of absolute pitch.
—Daniel A. Gross, Smithsonian, 25 Apr. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'absolute pitch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near absolute pitch
Cite this Entry
“Absolute pitch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/absolute%20pitch. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share