octave

noun

oc·tave | \ ˈäk-tiv,

-təv, -ˌtāv\

Definition of octave

1 : an 8-day period of observances beginning with a festival day

2a : a stanza of eight lines : ottava rima

b : the first eight lines of an Italian sonnet

3a : a musical interval embracing eight diatonic degrees

b : a tone or note at this interval

c : the harmonic combination of two tones an octave apart

d : the whole series of notes, tones, or digitals comprised within this interval and forming the unit of the modern scale

e : an organ stop giving tones an octave above those corresponding to the keys

4 : the interval between two frequencies (as in an electromagnetic spectrum) having a ratio of 2 to 1

5 : a group of eight

Examples of octave in a Sentence

He sang the song an octave lower.

Recent Examples on the Web

One day, at the top of an octave, the mystery trumpeter added an unexpected flourish. — Paul Klenk, New York Times, "‘Godfather Waltz’," 2 July 2018 Her life was its own improvisation, with octave leaps and joyous refrains. — Bryan Marquard, BostonGlobe.com, "Rebecca Parris, 66, jazz singer of uncommon range and emotional depth," 19 June 2018 Just as things are about to dissolve into a haze again, a Moog arrives with an synth-pop hook, inviting a pithy, soulful trumpet statement on the way out — bolstered, of course, by an octave pedal and a fleet of acid effects. — New York Times, "The Playlist: Prince’s Own ‘Nothing Compares 2 U,’ and 12 More New Songs," 20 Apr. 2018 But, as dads do, James raised his baritone a few octaves and talked noodles. — Candace Buckner, chicagotribune.com, "The graybeard Cavaliers have turned experience into their best weapon against the Celtics," 22 May 2018 His delivery has a sameness from song to song, and there's not going to be a lot of octave-stretching. — Chuck Yarborough, cleveland.com, "Chuck Auerbach follows in the footsteps of his Black Keys son with Beachland gig (concert review)," 4 May 2018 Teigen and John Legend‘s daughter Luna Simone, 2 next month, is on track to follow in her dad’s musical footsteps with this white mini baby grand, featuring a two-octave range and standalone bench. — Jen Juneau, PEOPLE.com, "Cribs! Strollers! A Piano! 5 Lavish Products Favored by Celebrity Kids and Their Mamas," 22 Mar. 2018 Now, rather than being limited to the five digits that evolution has given us, a pianist could playing by issuing mental instructions to 12 virtual fingers, one for each note on the chromatic scale (all the white and black keys in an octave). — R. Douglas Fields, Scientific American, "Wristband Lets the Brain Control a Computer with a Thought and a Twitch," 27 Mar. 2018 The musical comedian has carved out his own wild niche, using his multi-octave voice, in communion with looping devices, to build improvised skits and bits. — Randall Roberts, latimes.com, "Reggie Watts and John Tejada announce release of "Casual High Technology," their debut album as Wajatta," 7 Mar. 2018

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