sixteenth note

American  

noun

Music.

1. a note having one sixteenth of the time value of a whole note; semiquaver.

---

sixteenth note British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): semiquaver.  music a note having the time value of one-sixteenth of a semibreve

---

Etymology

Origin of sixteenth note

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Conductor Carlo Montanaro makes the musical values paramount, supporting the singers right down to the last sixteenth note in some of the greatest arias and ensembles in the operatic repertoire.

From Seattle Times

The pattern continues with eighth notes, sixteenth notes, thirty-second notes, sixty-fourth notes, and so on, each type of note being half the length of the previous type.

From Literature

With “the pattern of the rail,” the voice falls in synch with the clickety-clack of sixteenth notes in the piano.

From The New Yorker

Like good musicians, good translators are obsessive; and if the listener might not care, or might not realize he cares, about the difference between an eighth note and a sixteenth note, the violinist does.

From New York Times

Vocal lines are set in twisting, mock-oratorical phrases as the orchestra bustles with Minimalist-like strings of racing sixteenth notes and pummeling chords.

From New York Times