Treble Meaning
/ˈtɹɛbəl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjPertaining to the highest singing voice or part in harmonized music.
adjThreefold, triple.
Sentence Examples
He can't even tell a treble clef from a bass clef.
If the drought continues, the price of grain will treble.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company's profits will ____ this year due to significantly increased sales.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The singer has a very high and clear ____ voice that is perfect for performing several classical choral pieces today.
Word Origin & History
PIE word *tréyes From Middle English treble, from Old French treble, from Latin triplus. Doublet of triple.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He put his cigar in his mouth, and, with his right hand, up in the treble keys, he began to play, in octaves, the melody of a song called "The Kinkajou," which, somewhat notably, had shifted into and ostensibly out of popularity before he was born."
— 1957, J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, “Zooey”, in Franny and Zooey, published 1961:
"A lofty tower, and strong on every side / With treble walls."
— 1697, John Dryden, chapter 6, in The Aeneid by Virgil:
"Every subscriber of one penny per week, who is sixty years of age, or upwards, and under four-score, to be entitled to receive treble his subscription at the end of the year; that is, his own subscription, and twice as much more."
— 1806, The Orthodox Churchman’s Magazine and Review; or, A Treasury of Divine and Useful Knowledge, volume X, London: […] J. G. Barnard, […], and sold by F[rancis,] C[harles] and J[ohn] Rivington, […], page 140:
"At the surface of the water it's fourteen pounds to the inch, thirty feet down it's double that; sixty, treble; ninety, four times"
— 1896, H. G. Wells, In the Abyss, Pearson's Magazine:
"Whose deserts might buy him treble"
— 1623 (first performance), John Fletcher, William Rowley, “The Maid in the Mill”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company's profits will ____ this year due to significantly increased sales.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The singer has a very high and clear ____ voice that is perfect for performing several classical choral pieces today.