From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsemitonesem‧i‧tone /ˈsemitəʊn $ -toʊn/ noun [countable] British English APMthe difference in pitch between any two notes that are next to each other on a piano SYN half step American English
Examples from the Corpus
semitone• The remainder is a retrograde of the same series a semitone lower.• In the following bars the conflict is even greater, as the note relationships are closer - tones and semitones.• You've got that constant semitone - that distended quality which is lovely.• The pitch shifter is particularly impressive, offering a full octave above or below in semitone steps.• The last bar is full of counter-movement, both in semitones and thirds.• The first two-bar phrase uses all twelve semitones except A. 