Definition of octave
1 : an 8-day period of observances beginning with a festival day
2a : a stanza of eight lines : ottava rimab : the first eight lines of an Italian sonnet
3a : a musical interval embracing eight diatonic degreesb : a tone or note at this intervalc : the harmonic combination of two tones an octave apartd : the whole series of notes, tones, or digitals comprised within this interval and forming the unit of the modern scalee : 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
From the M-W Editors
Examples of octave in a Sentence
He sang the song an octave lower.
Recent Examples of octave from the Web
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The attraction and the challenge of Spalding’s performances are their density, arranged for her multi-octave voice and quicksilver sensibility.
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A hero of Indiana Avenue's club scene during the 1950s, Montgomery pioneered a parallel-octave playing style and ascended to international fame.
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American pop group OneRepublic opened with an 11-song set that showcased the soaring, multi-octave range of lead singer and co-founder Ryan Tedder.
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Pink noise, which is a composite of sounds, differs from white noise because each of its individual sounds carries the same frequency, unlike notes in music, say, whose frequencies double with each higher octave.
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Hadelich played Ravel’s octave double-stops completely in tune.
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Without a bass player, Vozza and DeCarlo split their signals through dual guitar/bass setups, doubling guitar parts an octave below as needed.
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Enormous credit here to Elisabeth Moss for covering all possible octaves of grief.
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Diamond’s saxophonist and Chicago native Larry Klimas used his octave-jumping horn to portray the song’s other injured party.
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.
Origin and Etymology of octave
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin octava, from Latin, feminine of octavus eighth, from octo eight — more at eight
OCTAVE Defined for English Language Learners
octave
playDefinition of octave for English Language Learners
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music : the difference in sound between the first and eighth note on a musical scale
OCTAVE Defined for Kids
octave
playDefinition of octave for Students
1 : a space of eight steps between musical notes
2 : a tone or note that is eight steps above or below another note or tone
Learn More about octave
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See words that rhyme with octave Spanish Central: Translation of octave Nglish: Translation of octave for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of octave for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about octave
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