octet
Americannoun
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a company of eight singers or musicians.
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a musical composition for eight voices or instruments.
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Prosody. octave.
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any group of eight.
noun
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any group of eight, esp eight singers or musicians
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a piece of music composed for such a group
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prosody another word for octave
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chem a group of eight electrons forming a stable shell in an atom
Etymology
Origin of octet
1860–65; oct- + -et, as in duet
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.
But when you ask them about all that success, the octet are suddenly bashful.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025
That program began with a small octet by Stravinsky and Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2025
He gained renown for his keyboard artistry and charisma leading Episteme, the octet he founded in 1981.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 21, 2024
For “Eleanor Rigby,” the Beatles recorded versions of Martin’s backup arrangement with a string octet using lush classical vibrato and legato phrasing, but they wisely chose a brusque, woody attack instead.
From New York Times • Oct. 31, 2022
A shapely octet in silk-and-lisle regimentals, black-astrakhan capes flung over one shoulder, and black-astrakhan hats as high as a majordomo's bent eight silk-and-lisle left knees with rhythmic regularity.
From Just Around the Corner Romance en casserole by Hurst, Fannie
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.
