Illustration of crescendo
- mark indicating crescendo 2
cre·scen·do
krə-ˈshen-(ˌ)dō 
plural crescendos also crescendoes or crescendi
krə-ˈshen-dē
1
a
: a gradual increase
a crescendo of excitement
specifically
: a gradual increase in volume of a musical passage
b
: the peak of a gradual increase : climax
… complaints about stifling smog conditions reach a crescendo …—
DownBeat
DownBeat2
: a crescendo musical passage
crescendo
intransitive verb
crescendo
2 of 2adverb or adjective
: with an increase in volume
—used as a direction in music
Examples of crescendo in a Sentence
Noun
The noise rose to a crescendo.
excitement in the auditorium slowly built up and reached its crescendo when the star walked on stage
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Santoli, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026
The strikeout of Trout served as Sunday’s crescendo.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026
For Rios, the 250th is not just about looking back at the country's founding, or even about the crescendo of July 4, 2026.
—Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Adolescence‘s awards hot streak could be heading for a big crescendo after the Netflix series dominated nominations for the BAFTA Television Awards.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crescendo
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Noun
The market cadence of the past few months has some uncomfortable resemblances to the early 2025 path leading up to that tariff-panic crescendo.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026
The strikeout of Trout served as Sunday’s crescendo.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026
For Rios, the 250th is not just about looking back at the country's founding, or even about the crescendo of July 4, 2026.
—Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Adolescence‘s awards hot streak could be heading for a big crescendo after the Netflix series dominated nominations for the BAFTA Television Awards.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crescendo
Cite this Entry
“Crescendo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crescendo. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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