Phrase guide

Axis progression

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A chord progression, I–V–vi–IV, used in Western popular music, common since the 1970s.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • The Axis progression in the key of C: {1}

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From the name of a musical comedy group, The Axis of Awesome, whose 2009 song Four Chords comments on the ubiquity of this progression.