Illustration of crescendo
- mark indicating crescendo 2
cre·scen·do
krə-ˈshen-(ˌ)dō 
plural crescendos also crescendoes or crescendi
krə-ˈshen-dē
1
a
: a gradual increase
a crescendo of excitement
specifically
: a gradual increase in volume of a musical passage
b
: the peak of a gradual increase : climax
… complaints about stifling smog conditions reach a crescendo …—
Down Beat
Down Beat2
: a crescendo musical passage
crescendo
intransitive verb
crescendo
2 of 2adverb or adjective
: with an increase in volume
—used as a direction in music
Examples of crescendo in a Sentence
Noun
The noise rose to a crescendo.
excitement in the auditorium slowly built up and reached its crescendo when the star walked on stage
Recent Examples on the Web
Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2025
Sinking onto Desdemona’s bed, reciting his lines without notable crescendo or feeling, Washington puts Osborne into a weary headlock, and then kind of leans on her to death.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2025
In Miami, a city sometimes referred to as the capital of Latin America that is home to some 400,000 Brazilians and a tennis tournament that sells itself as a kind of South American grand slam, the Fonseca chorus reached its first crescendo of many.
—Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025
The two-track body of work boasts snakey slithering synths, explosive drops, effervescent sounds, hard-hitting tunes, hypnotic soundscapes and erratic beats that build up into a crescendo followed by techno designed to ignite the dance floor.
—Lisa Kocay, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crescendo
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Noun
White voiced his decision through a slow crescendo of criticism aimed at Lopes over her public statements and actions in the days after White granted Wenger a mistrial, at Lopes’ insistence, earlier this month.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2025
Sinking onto Desdemona’s bed, reciting his lines without notable crescendo or feeling, Washington puts Osborne into a weary headlock, and then kind of leans on her to death.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2025
In Miami, a city sometimes referred to as the capital of Latin America that is home to some 400,000 Brazilians and a tennis tournament that sells itself as a kind of South American grand slam, the Fonseca chorus reached its first crescendo of many.
—Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025
The two-track body of work boasts snakey slithering synths, explosive drops, effervescent sounds, hard-hitting tunes, hypnotic soundscapes and erratic beats that build up into a crescendo followed by techno designed to ignite the dance floor.
—Lisa Kocay, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crescendo
Cite this Entry
“Crescendo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crescendo. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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