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crescendo

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The definition of crescendo is something that gradually gets louder.

(adjective)

An example of crescendo is a part of a song where the volume increases gradually.

Crescendo is defined as something, such as music, that gradually gets louder or more intense.

(noun)

An example of a crescendo is a part of a song that gradually gets louder.

To crescendo means to gradually grow in volume or intensity.

(verb)

An example of crescendo is when a song starts gradually getting louder.

See crescendo in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective, adverb

with a gradual increase in loudness: often used as a musical direction, indicated by the sign 

Origin: It, ger. of crescere: see crescent

noun pl. crescendos

Music
1. a gradual increase in loudness
2. a crescendo passage
any gradual increase in force, intensity, etc.

intransitive verb crescendoed, crescendoing

to increase gradually in loudness or intensity

See crescendo in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. cres·cen·dos or cres·cen·di (-dē)

Abbr. cr. Music
a. A gradual increase, especially in the volume or intensity of sound in a passage.
b. A passage played with a gradual increase in volume or intensity.
a. A steady increase in intensity or force: “insisted [that] all paragraphs … should be structured as a crescendo rising to a climactic last sentence” (Henry A. Kissinger).
b. Usage Problem The climactic point or moment after such a progression: “The attacks … began in December … and reached a crescendo during [the president's] September visit” (Foreign Affairs).

adjective

Gradually increasing in volume, force, or intensity.

adverb
Music

With a crescendo.

intransitive verb cres·cen·doed, cres·cen·do·ing, cres·cen·does

To build up to or reach a point of great intensity, force, or volume: “The designer-name craze crescendoed in the mid-seventies” (Bernice Kanner).

Origin:

Origin: Italian

Origin: , present participle of crescere, to increase

Origin: , from Latin crēscere; see ker-² in Indo-European roots

Usage Note: Crescendo is sometimes used by reputable speakers and writers to denote a climax or peak, as in noise level, rather than an increase. Although citational evidence over time attests to widespread currency, it is difficult for anyone acquainted with the technical musical sense of crescendo to use it to mean “a peak.” Fifty-five percent of the Usage Panel rejected it in the sentence When the guard sank a three-pointer to tie the game, the noise of the crowd reached a crescendo.

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