Meaning & use

Crotchet

noun·Advanced

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A musical note, especially in British usage, equal in duration to a quarter of a whole note.

See it in a sentence

The melody was written mostly in crotchets, giving the piece a steady, walking rhythm.

Her crotchets about how the kitchen must be organized made cooking with her difficult.

A note on using this word

Beyond music, 'crotchet' also means a stubborn, whimsical notion or personal quirk, the source of the adjective 'crotchety,' meaning irritable or eccentric.

Words with a similar meaning

quarter note

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Another way to use it

2. noun

A whimsical or perverse personal notion; an odd fixed opinion or habit.

The old professor had a crotchet about never grading papers written in blue ink.

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