[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/semibreve/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [S](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/s/) / semibreve

# semibreve

noun (a semibreve, semibreves)

«semibreve» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

(music, UK) The longest common note: it lasts four beats in 4/4 time, as long as two minims or four crotchets; in the USA it is called a whole note. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semibreve/#m1)

### In the lessons

In music lessons a semibreve is drawn as an open oval with no stem. It fills a whole bar of 4/4 time. Note values form a halving pattern, useful for fractions in maths.

### Examples

- A semibreve lasts for four beats. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semibreve/#x1)
- In America a semibreve is called a whole note. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semibreve/#x2)
- One semibreve fills a whole bar in 4/4 time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semibreve/#x3)
- A semibreve looks like an empty oval with no stem. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semibreve/#x4)
- Two minims make one semibreve. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semibreve/#x5)
- Hold the semibreve until I count to four. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semibreve/#x6)
- A semibreve is as long as eight quavers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semibreve/#x7)

### Note

Countable; plural «semibreves». «Semi-» here does not mean «small»: it is a «half» of the old «breve», a note now rarely used. Maths: 1 semibreve = 2 minims = 4 crotchets = 8 quavers = 16 semiquavers. A whole-bar rest looks different (a small block hanging below a line).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «semibreve» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semibreve/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«semibreve» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/semibreve.html) on Mova free.