grace note

American  

noun

Music.

1. a note not essential to the harmony or melody, added as an embellishment, especially an appoggiatura.

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grace note British  

noun

1. music a note printed in small type to indicate that it is melodically and harmonically nonessential

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Etymology

Origin of grace note

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grace note

The rainbow, however ephemeral, provides more than a grace note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

It is dedicated to the couple’s late friend, Dagny Janss Corcoran; given the great Huntington Library, remembering a celebrated dealer in art books is an added grace note.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2023

“How to Break” abandons showing for telling long before it hits the end of its nearly two-hour, no-intermission run time, but the design’s visual ambiguity is a welcome grace note.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 5, 2023

The peach was a grace note, fresh but subtle, in the company of the potent but oh-so-smooth spirit.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 23, 2023

Then I discovered that there is a trill, a tiny grace note or yodel, at the end of his second note.

From Wilderness Ways by Copeland, Charles