rubato

[ roo-bah-toh; Italian roo-bah-taw ]

adjective

having certain notes arbitrarily lengthened while others are correspondingly shortened, or vice versa.

noun,plural ru·ba·tos, ru·ba·ti

[roo-bah-tee; Italian roo-bah-tee]. /ruˈbɑ ti; Italian ruˈbɑ ti/.

a rubato phrase or passage.
a rubato performance.

adverb

in a rubato manner.

Origin of rubato

1880–85; <Italian (tempo) rubato stolen (time), past participle of rubare to steal <Germanic; see rob

Words Nearby rubato

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rubato in a sentence

Let us try if it is not possible to obtain a clearer notion of this mysterious tempo rubato.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician | Frederick Niecks
Above all, however, we have to keep in mind that the tempo rubato is a genus which comprehends numerous species.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician | Frederick Niecks
One seems to see the expression marks: piano, pianissimo, largamente, and just where the tempo rubato comes in.
Plays, Acting and Music | Arthur Symons
His delicate pianissimo, the ever-changing modifications of tone and time (tempo rubato) were of indescribable effect.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 3 | Various
The player was afterward highly extolled on account of his wonderful rubato effects.
Memories of a Musical Life | William Mason

British Dictionary definitions for rubato

rubato

/ (ruːˈbɑːtəʊ) music /

nounplural -tos

flexibility of tempo in performance

adjective, adverb

to be played with a flexible tempo

Origin of rubato

C19: from the Italian phrase tempo rubato, literally: stolen time, from rubare to rob

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

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