harmonics
Americannoun
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(used with a singular verb) the science of musical sounds.
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(used with a plural verb) the partials or overtones of a fundamental tone.
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(used with a plural verb) the flageoletlike tones of a string, as a violin string, made to vibrate so as to bring out an overtone.
noun
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(functioning as singular) the science of musical sounds and their acoustic properties
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(functioning as plural) the overtones of a fundamental note, as produced by lightly touching the string of a stringed instrument at one of its node points while playing See harmonic
Etymology
Origin of harmonics
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead of one sharp signal, multiple evenly spaced lines emerge, similar to how a pure tone can split into harmonics.
From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026
Bryce Dessner’s recent Violin Concerto was dominated by soloist Pekka Kuusisto’s vivid bowing, creating astonishing acoustical effects with harmonics.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2025
“There’s something that happens when you lock in to somebody and all the harmonics ping,” says Sting backup singer Jo Lawry.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2024
Intriguingly, these harmonics correlate with the energies of SPEs observed across numerous experiments conducted worldwide.
From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2024
When the fundamental is included in calculations, it is called the first partial, and the rest of the harmonics are the second, third, fourth partials and so on.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
