harmonic

American  

[hahr-mon-ik] / hɑrˈmɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. pertaining to harmony, as distinguished from melody and rhythm.

2. marked by harmony; in harmony; concordant; consonant.

3. Physics. of, relating to, or noting a series of oscillations in which each oscillation has a frequency that is an integral multiple of the same basic frequency.

4. Mathematics.

   1. (of a set of values) related in a manner analogous to the frequencies of tones that are consonant.

   2. capable of being represented by sine and cosine functions.

   3. (of a function) satisfying the Laplace equation.

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noun

1. Music. overtone.

2. Physics. a single oscillation whose frequency is an integral multiple of the fundamental frequency.

harmonic British  

/ hɑːˈmɒnɪk /

adjective

1. of, involving, producing, or characterized by harmony; harmonious

2. music of, relating to, or belonging to harmony

3. maths

   1. capable of expression in the form of sine and cosine functions

   2. of or relating to numbers whose reciprocals form an arithmetic progression

4. physics of or concerned with an oscillation that has a frequency that is an integral multiple of a fundamental frequency

5. physics of or concerned with harmonics

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noun

1. physics music a component of a periodic quantity, such as a musical tone, with a frequency that is an integral multiple of the fundamental frequency. The first harmonic is the fundamental, the second harmonic (twice the fundamental frequency) is the first overtone , the third harmonic (three times the fundamental frequency) is the second overtone, etc

2. music (not in technical use) overtone: in this case, the first overtone is the first harmonic, etc

harmonic Scientific  

/ här-mŏn′ĭk /

1. Periodic motion whose frequency is a whole-number multiple of some fundamental frequency. The motion of objects or substances that vibrate or oscillate in a regular fashion, such as the strings of musical instruments, can be analyzed as a combination of a fundamental frequency and higher harmonics.

2. ◆ Harmonics above the first harmonic (the fundamental frequency) in sound waves are called overtones. The first overtone is the second harmonic, the second overtone is the third harmonic, and so on.

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1. Related to or having the properties of such periodic motion.

Other Word Forms

• harmonically
  adverb
• harmonicalness
  noun
• nonharmonic
  adjective
• unharmonic
  adjective
• unharmonically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of harmonic

1560–70; < Latin harmonicus < Greek harmonikós musical, suitable. See harmony, -ic

Example Sentences

So did Harmonic, a startup co-founded by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, who says “mathematical superintelligence is getting closer by the minute.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

Harmonic Security helps to identify shadow AI and to prevent corporate data being entered into AI tools inappropriately.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2025

Sites such as Serpent Mound have served as gathering places for New Age spiritual practitioners since the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, when believers congregated on a day they believed was auspicious according to the Mayan calendar.

From Washington Post • Dec. 24, 2021

Harmonic motion functions are modeled from given data.

From Textbooks • Dec. 1, 2021

My uncle said when people come together and they all care about the same things, it’s called a Harmonic Convergence.

From "Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson

Related Words

• melodic
• symphonic