noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A symbol found on a musical staff that indicates the pitches represented by the lines and the spaces on the staff
2. 2
   a musical notation written on a staff indicating the pitch of the notes following it wordnet

Example

More examples

"An "8" was placed below the clef sign."

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French clef, from Latin clāvis (“a key”). Doublet of clave and clavis.

Related phrases

C clefF clefG clefalto clefbaritone clefbass clefneutral clefoctave cleftenor cleftreble clefviola clef

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.