ostinato
Americannoun
plural
ostinatosnoun
Etymology
Origin of ostinato
1875–80; < Italian: literally, obstinate < Latin obstinātus obstinate
Vocabulary lists containing ostinato
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.
Laid across this ostinato are various storylines involving recruits working out the issues that have brought them to this Parris Island of Misfit Boys.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2025
A billion people might be able to instantly hum Williams’ two-note ostinato from “Jaws” or “The Imperial March” from “Star Wars.”
From Seattle Times • Jun. 23, 2022
The Pasadena, California-based court said the eight-note pattern, known as an ostinato, consisted "entirely of commonplace musical elements" that lacked the "quantum of originality" needed for copyright protection.
From Reuters • Mar. 10, 2022
The Sibelius concerto has such a strong sense of motion with the ostinato, that repeated motif in the orchestra — almost like telephone poles against which you can measure the speed of the soloist.
From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2021
Be sure to have them learn the song very well before adding a sung ostinato.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
