ostinato
noun
osti·na·to ˌä-stə-ˈnä-(ˌ)tō 
ˌȯ-
plural ostinatos also ostinati ˌä-stə-ˈnä-tē
ˌȯ-
: a musical figure repeated persistently at the same pitch throughout a composition compare imitation, sequence
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Its slow movement, in C minor, is built on a mesmerizing cello ostinato, rising by scalar steps from C to F and then back down. 
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2022 The song’s iconic four-note ostinato dates back to pre-Christian folklore, and was arranged into its classical musical form by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovich in 1916. Micah Hendler, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2022 Dolnick has not just a journalist’s fondness for narrative color but also an affection for England that plays, like a basso ostinato, beneath his text. The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2021 And the film’s storytelling is as free as jazz — or, in fact, a then-unknown band named Earth, Wind & Fire, who lay down a funk ostinato topped by a snaky, blaring sax. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 Sep. 2021 The song describes a man obsessing about the girl who lives in the apartment above him over a clanging ostinato piano note. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2021 The sound of buildings going up is the city’s ostinato—its thrumming, hammering heartbeat. Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020 On the Pittsburgh recording of the Seventh, the ostinato rhythm in the second movement takes on a distinctive vocal contour, with changing inflections from one note to the next. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2020 On the final one, a two-note ostinato creates a chugging momentum, quickly joined by a racing, jittery theme. Joshua Barone, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2019 See More
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2022 The song’s iconic four-note ostinato dates back to pre-Christian folklore, and was arranged into its classical musical form by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovich in 1916. Micah Hendler, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2022 Dolnick has not just a journalist’s fondness for narrative color but also an affection for England that plays, like a basso ostinato, beneath his text. The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2021 And the film’s storytelling is as free as jazz — or, in fact, a then-unknown band named Earth, Wind & Fire, who lay down a funk ostinato topped by a snaky, blaring sax. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 Sep. 2021 The song describes a man obsessing about the girl who lives in the apartment above him over a clanging ostinato piano note. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2021 The sound of buildings going up is the city’s ostinato—its thrumming, hammering heartbeat. Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020 On the Pittsburgh recording of the Seventh, the ostinato rhythm in the second movement takes on a distinctive vocal contour, with changing inflections from one note to the next. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2020 On the final one, a two-note ostinato creates a chugging momentum, quickly joined by a racing, jittery theme. Joshua Barone, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Italian, obstinate, from Latin obstinatus
First Known Use
1928, in the meaning defined above