recital

American  

[ri-sahyt-l] / rɪˈsaɪt l /

noun

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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Related Words

See narrative.

Other Word Forms

• nonrecital noun
• prerecital noun
• recitalist noun

Etymology

Origin of recital

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

Example Sentences

I like “organ recitals”—impromptu get-togethers where old people rehash their illnesses.

From The Wall Street Journal

His stern, just-the-facts Joe Friday recitals of arrests, seizures, drug lab takedowns and other enforcement actions are signature moments at presidential news briefings.

From Los Angeles Times

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

Those include dance performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and recitals by the Metropolitan Opera.

From The Wall Street Journal

Not many people can say they've been given a private piano recital by Sir Anthony Hopkins.

From BBC

Related Words

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