grace note

noun

Updated on: 25 May 2018

Definition of grace note

1 : a musical note added as an ornament; especially : appoggiatura

2 : a small addition or embellishment

Recent Examples of grace note from the Web

Somewhere in all of that, 13 Reasons Why found room for one more #MeToo grace note.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "How 13 Reasons Why Successfully Grapples with the #MeToo Movement," 19 May 2018
The mind-warping grace notes of the first season — a black Justin Bieber, the jaw-dropping getaway of an invisible sports car — were deployed with nonchalance.

— wesley morris, New York Times, "‘Atlanta’ Skips a Grade," 11 May 2018
The spark ignites in Jennifer Schriever’s lighting design, which makes sherbet orange and indigo radiate seemingly from the Angel herself, joining Faridany’s mellifluous voice, which charges every tone with a phalanx of heavenly grace notes.

— lily janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, "Berkeley Rep revives ‘Angels in America,’ in all its soaring spirit," 29 Apr. 2018
The horn works fine Bryce Konitzer’s crazy buzzer beater last week was a grace note on a senior having a great season on the basketball court, even though baseball is where his future lies.

— jr radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Play by Play Newsletter: Sports stories to get you through the week when your car (and finances, and probably your soul) breaks," 26 Jan. 2018
That Nolan wrenches grace notes out of such fleeting bits of horror is a testament to his intermittent skills as an image-maker.

— zoe haylock, The Hollywood Reporter, "Oscars: Read Some of the Worst Reviews of This Year's Best Picture Nominees," 2 Mar. 2018
Yellen's grace note demonstrates that even as some rules are getting looser, regulators still wield what bankers should consider a bracing amount of discretion in applying them.

— tory newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202: Yellen's 'mic drop' lands on Wells Fargo," 5 Feb. 2018
These aren’t just grace notes designed to create cultural specificity.

— mike fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Immigrant dreams curdle in devastating 'Russian Transport'," 21 Jan. 2018
Yes, there is some light musing on the economic state of things sprinkled throughout, and some softer grace notes that suggest deeper emotional currents.

— richard lawson, HWD, "Logan Lucky Review: A Southern-Fried Ocean’s Eleven That Goes Down Easy," 26 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'grace note.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of grace note

circa 1823

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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