whole step

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noun Music.

an interval of two semitones, as A-B or B-C♯; a major second.

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Nearby words

whole numbers, whole rest, whole shebang, whole sister, whole snipe, whole step, whole tone, whole-body counter, whole-body titration curve, whole-cell vaccine, whole-grain

Origin of whole step

First recorded in 1895–1900

Also called whole·tone.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for whole step

If strictly logical terminology is to be insisted upon the whole-tone scale should be called the "whole-step" scale.
Music Notation and Terminology|Karl W. Gehrkens
The interval between the two tones may therefore be either a half-step or a whole-step.
Music Notation and Terminology|Karl W. Gehrkens
The expressions half-step and whole-step are much to be preferred to half-tone and whole-tone, as being more clear and definite.
Music Notation and Terminology|Karl W. Gehrkens