[kri-shen-doh, -sen-doh; It. kre-shen-daw] 
noun, plural -dos, -di [-dee] , adjective, adverb, verb | 1. | Music.
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| 2. | a steady increase in force or intensity: The rain fell in a crescendo on the rooftops. |
| 3. | the climactic point or moment in such an increase; peak: The authorities finally took action when public outrage reached a crescendo. |
| 4. | gradually increasing in force, volume, or loudness (opposed to decrescendo or diminuendo ). |
| 5. | to grow in force or loudness. |
| cres·cen·do (krə-shěn'dō) n. pl. cres·cen·dos or cres·cen·di (-dē)
adv. Music With a crescendo. intr.v. cres·cen·doed, cres·cen·do·ing, cres·cen·does To build up to or reach a point of great intensity, force, or volume: "The designer-name craze crescendoed in the mid-seventies" (Bernice Kanner). [Italian, present participle of crescere, to increase, from Latin crēscere; see ker-2 in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: Crescendo is sometimes used by reputable speakers and writers to denote a climax or peak, as in noise level, rather than an increase. Although citational evidence over time attests to widespread currency, it is difficult for anyone acquainted with the technical musical sense of crescendo to use it to mean "a peak." Fifty-five percent of the Usage Panel rejected it in the sentence When the guard sank a three-pointer to tie the game, the noise of the crowd reached a crescendo. |
A musical direction used to indicate increasing loudness.
Note: The term is sometimes used figuratively to indicate rising intensity in general: “As the days went on, there was a crescendo of angry letters about my speech.” Crescendo is also sometimes misused to indicate a peak of intensity, as in, “The angry letters about my speech hit a crescendo on Wednesday.”
doʊ