How to Use octave in a Sentence

octave

noun
  • He sang the song an octave lower.
  • Each rest rose in octave and emphasis, to drive the point home.
    — Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2020
  • The cow-like chant raised an octave each time Cowser swung the bat.
    — Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 13 Apr. 2024
  • The eighth is the same as the first, except it is sung one octave higher.
    — Rabbi Avi Weiss, sun-sentinel.com, 5 Apr. 2021
  • His voice rose an octave, and his head slunk slightly forward.
    — Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2022
  • Thompson has a low octave voice and his words move at an unhurried pace.
    — Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 28 June 2022
  • This is a long curving bar where five octaves of white and black keys wrap around the 4-foot knee wall.
    — Judy Rose, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2020
  • The engine note dropped an octave to a growl, and traction control turned off.
    — cleveland, 7 Jan. 2023
  • But, as dads do, James raised his baritone a few octaves and talked noodles.
    — Candace Buckner, chicagotribune.com, 22 May 2018
  • Emma then copies my voice & laugh and drops it several octaves.
    — Variety, NBC News, 21 Sep. 2023
  • Pheelz tells me, his voice going up many octaves in excitement.
    — Nelson C.j., Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2023
  • Drake's voice drops an octave and her million-words-per minute style of speaking slows to hunt-and-peck.
    — Justin L. MacK, The Indianapolis Star, 30 June 2021
  • Indignation rouged his cheeks, and his voice rose half an octave.
    — Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2021
  • Craig never had managed or coached baseball at any octave.
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
  • As he got swept up in his argument, his voice picked up speed and gained about an octave in outrage.
    — David Montgomery, Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2019
  • The sounds emitted can create a range of octaves, some even too complex for the human ear.
    — Moná Thomas, People.com, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Foxes can make sounds that spans five octaves, the same range as Mariah Carey.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2024
  • The melody climbs through Lovato's four-octave range in a soulful cry for help.
    — Shana Naomi Krochmal, EW.com, 25 Mar. 2021
  • The bari-tenor lets his lower octave dip and rumble righteously.
    — A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 3 Dec. 2021
  • The fact is, the galaxy would feel like an emptier place deprived of any of those octaves, let alone all four of them.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 7 June 2026
  • It’s completed with a depiction of his four-octave range.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025
  • Dressed in a classy two-piece skirt set, the singer started off strong before reaching the part in the song where her voice raised an octave.
    — Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 28 Oct. 2024
  • His delivery has a sameness from song to song, and there's not going to be a lot of octave-stretching.
    — Chuck Yarborough, cleveland.com, 4 May 2018
  • The au courant Midwestern sound was grunge with vocals lowered by an octave.
    — Nell Zink, Harper's magazine, 24 June 2019
  • 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
  • Lockwood’s older sister, the singer, lost an octave of her voice to a parathyroid tumor.
    — Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
  • At least in one case, Alexa’s female voice dropped a few octaves, sounding more masculine.
    — Bernhard Warner, BostonGlobe.com, 1 July 2023
  • Dressed in a classy two-piece skirt set, the singer started off strong before reaching the part in the song where her voice raises an octave.
    — Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 25 Oct. 2024
  • Word quickly spread around town about Houston, the teenage girl with the octave-spanning voice of an angel.
    — Keaton Bell, Vogue, 9 Aug. 2021
  • My solo hinged on a four-string A-chord with the second, third and fourth strings an octave higher than normal.
    — Marc Myers, WSJ, 30 Sep. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'octave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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