allegro
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of allegro
1625–35; < Italian < Latin alacer brisk. Cf. alacrity
Explanation
In music, allegro distinguishes a movement that's meant to be played very quickly. Your piano teacher might instruct you to try playing a piece allegro. If you're reading sheet music and you see the word allegro, you'll know that particular section or movement should be played in a lively, spirited way. There are many Italian musical terms that describe or direct the tempo, or speed, of the music, and allegro is one of these. The word means "cheerful or gay" in Italian from the Latin root alacrem, "lively, cheerful, or brisk."
Vocabulary lists containing allegro
Curtain Call: Dance and Theater Terms
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Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“There’s people that live nice in RVs,” said Montagna, who plans to pay $1,250 a month to live at the park in his 2021 Tiffin Allegro Bus.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2025
Allegro Funds could not immediately be reached for comment on the statement outside business hours.
From Reuters • Jun. 25, 2023
Without lacking vividness, the Brahms had a gentle cast in its opening; the Allegro finale sent off bright energy, but its colors were the blaze of a sunset rather than daylight brashness.
From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2023
It’s no surprise that some of the prettiest pizza ovens — the $5,900 Alfa Outdoor Fire Yellow Allegro oven immediately comes to mind — are also the costliest.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2022
Again Allegro in a graceful aria sings, “There let Hymen oft appear.”
From The Standard Cantatas Their Stories, Their Music, and Their Composers by Upton, George P. (George Putnam)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
