- an interval corresponding to a frequency difference of 100 cents as measured in the system of equal temperament, and denoting the pitch difference between certain adjacent degrees of the diatonic scale (diatonic semitone) or between one note and its sharpened or flattened equivalent (chromatic semitone); minor secondAlso called (US and Canadian): half step
Compare whole tone
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sem•i•tone /ˈsɛmiˌtoʊn, ˈsɛmaɪ-/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Music and Dancea musical pitch halfway between two whole tones.
sem•i•tone
(sem′ē tōn′, sem′ī-),USA pronunciation n. [Music.]
sem•i•ton•ic
(sem′ē ton′ik, sem′ī-),USA pronunciation sem•i•ton•al
(sem′ē tōn′l, sem′ī-),USA pronunciation adj.
sem′i•ton′al•ly, adv.
- Music and Dancea pitch interval halfway between two whole tones. Also called half step, half tone.
- 1600–10; semi- + tone
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
semitone /ˈsɛmɪˌtəʊn/ n
'semitone' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):