oct

Everyday

1. Oct. — short for October, the tenth month. tree →
2. Short for octave in music, or octal (base 8) in computing and maths. tree →

In the lessons

Used on calendars, dates and forms: «12 Oct 2025». In music, an octave is the gap from one note to the next note with the same name (8 notes). In computing, «oct» can mean octal numbers. Prefix «oct-» means eight: octopus, octagon.

Examples

• The school trip is on 14 Oct. tree →
• Write the date as 3 Oct or 3 October. tree →
• Half-term starts at the end of Oct. tree →
• The calendar showed Sep, Oct, Nov. tree →
• Oct- means eight, as in octagon. tree →
• The piano piece jumps up an oct here. tree →

Note

Not a word on its own; it is an abbreviation, often with a full stop (Oct.). Trap: October is the tenth month, even though «oct» means eight; in the old Roman calendar it was the eighth month, before January and February were added.