whole step

noun Music.

an interval of two semitones, as A-B or B-C♯; a major second.
Also called whole·tone.

Origin of whole step

First recorded in 1895–1900

Words nearby whole step

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

Example sentences 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