semitone B2 Topic:Art & Music US /ˈsɛmɪtoʊn/ UK /ˈsɛmɪtəʊn/ See IPA manual Freq #155066 Meanings 1 noun music: the smallest interval in the standard chromatic scale of Western music, equal to half a whole tone The melody rises by a semitone from C to C sharp. 2 noun music: either of the unequal half-tone intervals used in some tuning systems The theorist distinguished the smaller diatonic semitone from the chromatic semitone. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · music: the smallest... half stephalf tone Word family Forms semitones Derived forms semitonic Related forms tonechromatic scaleminor secondcent Etymology Formed from semi-, 'half,' + tone. The name reflects the division of a whole tone into two intervals, although the two semitones need not be equal in every historical tuning system. Topics Art & Music External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # semitone **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈsɛmɪtoʊn/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈsɛmɪtəʊn/ **Frequency rank:** 155066 ## Meanings 1. music: the smallest interval in the standard chromatic scale of Western music, equal to half a whole tone 2. music: either of the unequal half-tone intervals used in some tuning systems ## Examples - The melody rises by a semitone from C to C sharp. - The theorist distinguished the smaller diatonic semitone from the chromatic semitone. ## Synonyms - half step - half tone ## Derived Forms - semitonic ## Related Forms - tone - chromatic scale - minor second - cent ## Etymology Formed from semi-, 'half,' + tone. The name reflects the division of a whole tone into two intervals, although the two semitones need not be equal in every historical tuning system. ## Topics - Art & Music markdown