crescendo
cres·cen·do/kɹɪˈʃɛn.doʊ/noun, verb, adverb
crescendo is spelled C-R-E-S-C-E-N-D-O: 9 letters and 3 syllables (cres·cen·do). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, crescendo means “An instruction to play gradually more loudly, denoted by a long, narrow angle with its apex on the left ( < ), by musicians called a hairpin” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of crescendo is crescendos or crescendi.
How many letters and syllables are in crescendo?
| Letters | 9: C-R-E-S-C-E-N-D-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: cres·cen·do |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,748th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is crescendo?
Crescendo appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce crescendo?
- UK /kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/
- UK /kɹəˈʃɛn.dəʊ/
- US /kɹɪˈʃɛn.doʊ/
Crescendo has 3 syllables, split cres·cen·do in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-crescendo.ogg, En-au-crescendo.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with crescendo?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as crescendo from its last stressed vowel (/ɛndoʊ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of crescendo
- crescendos plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- crescendi plural
- crescendoes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cres.
- cresc.
- crescendoing participle, present
- crescendoed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does crescendo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An instruction to play gradually more loudly, denoted by a long, narrow angle with its apex on the left ( < ), by musicians called a hairpin.
- 2
A gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax.
Their fighting rose in a fearsome crescendo.
- 3
nonstandardThe climax of a gradual increase.
Their arguing rose to a fearsome crescendo.
verb
- 1
To increase in intensity; to reach or head for a crescendo.
The band crescendoed and then suddenly went silent.
adverb
- 1
Gradually increasing in force or loudness.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate crescendo?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of crescendo: cres., cresc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Crescendo in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does crescendo come from?
Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).