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Synonyms

low-pitched

American  
[loh-picht] / ˈloʊˈpɪtʃt /

adjective

  1. pitched in a low register or key.

    a low-pitched aria for the basso.

  2. produced by slow vibrations; relatively grave in pitch or soft in sound.

    a low-pitched whistle.


low-pitched British  

adjective

  1. pitched low in tone

  2. (of a roof) having sides with a shallow slope

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of low-pitched

First recorded in 1615–25

Explanation

Something that sounds deep and soft, especially someone's voice, can be called low-pitched. It's polite to speak in a low-pitched voice before your houseguests have woken up in the morning. People who sing in low registers — altos and basses, for example — have low-pitched voices, and a big dog might have a low-pitched bark, especially compared to your toy poodle's yap. This definition of low-pitched comes from the sense of pitch that means "the highness or lowness of a sound's tone." Another way to use this adjective is to mean "at a low slant or slight slope," from the pitch meaning "steepness of slope."

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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.

See Examples For:

Its opening poem, “Digging,” feels earthbound with its low-pitched vowels: “Between my finger and my thumb / The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Just when the performance seems to conclude, Doechii, in a gray suit and tie, answers to a series of low-pitched whistle tones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2025

"For reference," Dror explained, "the frequency of sound waves created by an alligator roar are about 100 billion times higher than this frequency -- these are very low-pitched waves."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2024

Some colleagues reckon I was chosen because they say I have a distinctive, low-pitched, reassuring-sounding voice.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2023

I sat a few feet away, entranced, close enough to hear the angry low-pitched buzzing of his wings, so at odds with his jewel-like appearance and jaunty attitude.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

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