crescendo

Meanings

Noun

• An instruction to play gradually more loudly, denoted by a long, narrow angle with its apex on the left ( < ), by musicians called a hairpin.
• A gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax.
• The climax of a gradual increase.

Verb

• To increase in intensity; to reach or head for a crescendo.

Adverb

• Gradually increasing in force or loudness.

Related

Opposite words

• decrescendo, diminuendo
• climax, conclusion

Origin

• Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere