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microtone

American  
[mahy-kruh-tohn] / ˈmaɪ krəˌtoʊn /

noun

  1. any musical interval smaller than a semitone, specifically, a quarter tone.

microtone British  
/ ˈmaɪkrəʊˌtəʊn /

noun

  1. any musical interval smaller than a semitone

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • microtonal adjective
  • microtonality noun
  • microtonally adverb

Etymology

Origin of microtone

First recorded in 1915–20; micro- + tone

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.