note Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a brief written record
    • he made a note of the appointment
  2. noun a short personal letter
    line; billet; short letter.
    • drop me a line when you get there
  3. noun a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound
    tone; musical note.
    • the singer held the note too long
  4. noun a tone of voice that shows what the speaker is feeling
    • there was a note of uncertainty in his voice
  5. noun a characteristic emotional quality
    • it ended on a sour note
    • there was a note of gaiety in her manner
    • he detected a note of sarcasm
  6. noun a piece of paper money (especially one issued by a central bank)
    bank bill; banknote; bill; banker's bill; Federal Reserve note; government note; bank note; greenback.
    • he peeled off five one-thousand-zloty notes
  7. noun a comment or instruction (usually added)
    annotation; notation.
    • his notes were appended at the end of the article
    • he added a short notation to the address on the envelope
  8. noun high status importance owing to marked superiority
    distinction; eminence; preeminence.
    • a scholar of great eminence
  9. noun a promise to pay a specified amount on demand or at a certain time
    promissory note; note of hand.
    • I had to co-sign his note at the bank
  10. verb make mention of
    mention; remark; observe.
    • She observed that his presentation took up too much time
    • They noted that it was a fine day to go sailing
  11. verb notice or perceive
    notice; mark.
    • She noted that someone was following her
    • mark my words
  12. verb observe with care or pay close attention to
    take note; observe.
    • Take note of this chemical reaction
  13. verb make a written note of
    take down.
    • she noted everything the teacher said that morning

WordNet

Note transitive verb
Etymology
AS. hnitan to strike against, imp. hnat.
Definitions
  1. To butt; to push with the horns. Prov. Eng.
Note
Etymology
AS. nat; ne not + wat wot. See Not, and Wot.
Definitions
  1. Know not; knows not. Obs.
Note noun
Definitions
  1. Nut. Obs. Chaucer.
Note noun
Etymology
AS. notu use, profit.
Definitions
  1. Need; needful business. Obs. Chaucer.
Note noun
Etymology
F. note, L. nota; akin to noscere, notum, to know. See Know.
Definitions
  1. A mark or token by which a thing may be known; a visible sign; a character; a distinctive mark or feature; a characteristic quality.
    Whosoever appertain to the visible body of the church, they have also the notes of external profession. Hooker.
    She [the Anglican church] has the note of possession, the note of freedom from party titles,the note of life -- a tough life and a vigorous. J. H. Newman.
    What a note of youth, of imagination, of impulsive eagerness, there was through it all ! Mrs. Humphry Ward.
  2. A mark, or sign, made to call attention, to point out something to notice, or the like; a sign, or token, proving or giving evidence.
  3. A brief remark; a marginal comment or explanation; hence, an annotation on a text or author; a comment; a critical, explanatory, or illustrative observation.
    The best writers have been perplexed with notes, and obscured with illustrations. Felton.
  4. A brief writing intended to assist the memory; a memorandum; a minute.
  5. pl. Hence, a writing intended to be used in speaking; memoranda to assist a speaker, being either a synopsis, or the full text of what is to be said; as, to preach from notes; also, a reporter's memoranda; the original report of a speech or of proceedings.
  6. A short informal letter; a billet.
  7. A diplomatic missive or written communication.
  8. A written or printed paper acknowledging a debt, and promising payment; as, a promissory note; a note of hand; a negotiable note.
  9. A list of items or of charges; an account. Obs.
    Here is now the smith's note for shoeing. Shak.
  10. (Mus.) (a) A character, variously formed, to indicate the length of a tone, and variously placed upon the staff to indicate its pitch. Hence: (b) A musical sound; a tone; an utterance; a tune. (c) A key of the piano or organ.
    The wakeful bird . . . tunes her nocturnal note. Milton.
    That note of revolt against the eighteenth century, which we detect in Goethe, was struck by Winckelmann. W. Pater.
  11. Observation; notice; heed.
    Give orders to my servants that they take No note at all of our being absent hence. Shak.
  12. Notification; information; intelligence. Obs.
    The king . . . shall have note of this. Shak.
  13. State of being under observation. Obs.
    Small matters . . . continually in use and in note. Bacon.
  14. Reputation; distinction; as, a poet of note.
    There was scarce a family of note which had not poured out its blood on the field or the scaffold. Prescott.
  15. Stigma; brand; reproach. Obs. Shak.
Note transitive verb
Etymology
F. noter, L. notare, fr. nota. See Note, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Noted; present participle & verbal noun Noting
Definitions
  1. To notice with care; to observe; to remark; to heed; to attend to. Pope.
    No more of that; I have noted it well. Shak.
  2. To record in writing; to make a memorandum of.
    Every unguarded word . . . was noted down. Maccaulay.
  3. To charge, as with crime (with of or for before the thing charged); to brand. Obs.
    They were both noted of incontinency. Dryden.
  4. To denote; to designate. Johnson.
  5. To annotate. R. W. H. Dixon.
  6. To set down in musical characters.

Webster 1913