1
: an 8-day period of observances beginning with a festival day
2
a
: a stanza of eight lines : ottava rima
b
: the first eight lines of an Italian sonnet
3
a
: 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
In terms of octaves, New World monkeys can span three, while most human voices can barely extend beyond a single.
—
Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2025
Numerous choices by Lim helped this along, as repeats were transposed up or down an octave, and tempos marked by extremes in contrast.
—Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2025
Lim followed András Schiff in transposing the repeat sections of several variations (Nos. 7 and 19 up an octave, No. 18 down).
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
There are only so many notes in an octave, and almost every song on the planet can be played with four basic chords.
—Eric Fuller, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for octave
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Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2025
Numerous choices by Lim helped this along, as repeats were transposed up or down an octave, and tempos marked by extremes in contrast.
—Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2025
Lim followed András Schiff in transposing the repeat sections of several variations (Nos. 7 and 19 up an octave, No. 18 down).
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
There are only so many notes in an octave, and almost every song on the planet can be played with four basic chords.
—Eric Fuller, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for octave
Cite this Entry
“Octave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/octave. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
octave
noun
oc·tave
ˈäk-tiv 
-təv,
-ˌtāv
1
: a group of eight lines of poetry (as the first eight lines of a sonnet)
2
a
: the difference in pitch between the first and eighth tone on the scale
b
: a tone or note that is eight steps above or below another note or tone
3
: a group of eight
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