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poco a poco

American  
[poh-koh ah poh-koh, paw-kaw ah paw-kaw] / ˈpoʊ koʊ ɑ ˈpoʊ koʊ, ˈpɔ kɔ ɑ ˈpɔ kɔ /

adverb

Music.
  1. gradually; little by little.

    poco a poco accelerando.


poco a poco British  

adverb

  1. (in combination) music little by little

    poco a poco rall

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of poco a poco

Borrowed into English from Italian around 1850–55

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.

See Examples For:

Still, I have learned poco a poco, little by little.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

Crescendo poco a poco sin al fine—crescendo gradually even up to the very end.

From Music Notation and Terminology by Gehrkens, Karl Wilson

Thus e.g., crescendo poco a poco al forte ed un pochettino accelerando, is seen to mean merely—"increase gradually to forte and accelerate a very little bit."

From Music Notation and Terminology by Gehrkens, Karl Wilson

Amph. 551-632 could be worked up poco a poco crescendo e animato; in Poen.

From The Dramatic Values in Plautus by Blancké, Wilton Wallace

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