recital

American  

[ri-sahyt-l] / rɪˈsaɪt l /

noun

• recitals
  plural

1. a musical entertainment given usually by a single performer or by a performer and one or more accompanists.

2. a similar entertainment in a field other than music.

   a dance recital.

3. a program or concert by dance or music students to demonstrate their achievements or progress.

4. an act or instance of reciting.

5. a formal or public delivery of something memorized.

6. a detailed statement.

7. an account, narrative, or description.

   He gave a recital of the things he'd been doing since we'd last seen him.

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recital British  

/ rɪˈsaɪtəl /

noun

1. a musical performance by a soloist or soloists Compare concert

2. the act of reciting or repeating something learned or prepared

3. an account, narration, or description

4. a detailed statement of facts, figures, etc

5. (often plural) law the preliminary statement in a deed showing the reason for its existence and leading up to and explaining the operative part

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Synonym Usage

See narrative.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrecital
  noun
• prerecital
  noun
• recitalist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• recitals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of recital

First recorded in 1505–15; recite + -al ²

Explanation

The hardest part about piano lessons is having to give a recital, or to demonstrate what you've learned in front of an audience. You can also use the noun recital to describe the telling of a story. Your uncle might be famous for boring people at parties with his recital of youthful Boy Scout adventures, for example. In the 1500s, recital was strictly a legal term, the "statement of relevant facts," but the musical meaning had come into use by the 1800s. The root is the Latin word recitare, "repeat from memory."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recital recitals

Did watching my son perform at his piano recital cause my breaths to get shallow?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

He gave his last recital from memory at age 94.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Born in California to Polish parents, the musician gave her first recital at the age of four, and debuted with a full orchestra in Paris aged seven.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

But what was once known as the Lieder recital — the German title for songs in a genre once dominated by Schubert, Schumann, Hugo Wolf and Richard Strauss — has approached its sell-by date.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2026

Since my slime stuff is at Mom’s, I’m focusing on getting ready for the recital and practicing my music instead.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

No one likes those organ recitals about doctors missing critical signs and symptoms because they didn’t dig deep enough.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

Her father had toured the world, performing on cruise ships as well as giving piano recitals at country hotels, but like many others switched careers to help with the war effort after 1939.

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025

Videos of vibrant mosque ceilings and poetry recitals feature alongside captions that offer quick, insightful context.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025

There were decades of traveling the world giving improvisatory keyboard recitals that sometimes included all-night organ recitals in Gothic French cathedrals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2025

A few times a year, Bannon’s would hold recitals for the students at each level so that parents and families could see what we were learning.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Related Words

• concert
• musical
• presentation
• reading
• recitation
• rehearsal