solo

[soh-loh]

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noun, plural so·los, so·li [soh-lee] /ˈsoʊ li/.

a musical composition or a passage or section in a musical composition written for performance by one singer or instrumentalist, with or without accompaniment: She sang a solo.

any performance, as a dance, by one person.

a flight in an airplane during which the pilot is unaccompanied by an instructor or other person: I'll be ready for my first solo next week.

a person who works, acts, or performs alone: He used to sing with a quartet, but now he's a solo.

a person who performs or accomplishes something without the usual equipment, tools, etc.

Informal. an announcement, commercial offering, etc., made to only one person or a selected group of such persons: Each month the firm sends a solo to its best customers.

Cards. any of certain games in which one person plays alone against others.

adjective

Music. performing alone: a part for solo bassoon.

performed alone; not combined with other parts of equal importance; not concerted.

alone; without a companion or partner: a solo flight.

adverb

on one's own; alone or unaccompanied: After six lessons he was flying solo.

verb (used without object), so·loed, so·lo·ing.

to perform or do a solo: to solo on the trumpet.

to pilot a plane, glider, etc., unaccompanied, especially for the first time: After the course the students should be able to solo.

to perform or accomplish something by oneself.

verb (used with object), so·loed, so·lo·ing.

to pilot (a plane, glider, etc.) unaccompanied.

to allow (a student pilot) to pilot a plane, glider, etc., alone: The instructor decided to solo the student.

Origin of solo

1685–95; < Italian < Latin sōlus alone

Solo

[soh-loh]

noun

former name of Surakarta.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for solo

unaccompanied, single, individual, solitary, stag, friendless, unmarried, unaided, unassisted, unescorted

Examples from the Web for solo

Contemporary Examples of solo

He started out with solo flights, but in this session over the desert outside Dubai he really pushes the envelope.
Daredevil in a Jetpack Flies Alongside A Plane
Jack Holmes, The Daily Beast Video
December 12, 2014
The mini- Monet, as many have come to know him, had his first solo exhibition shortly after.
Blessed or Cursed? Child Prodigies Reveal All
Justin Jones
November 17, 2014
Instead of that typical thing of playing solo after solo—been there, done that.
Herbie Hancock Holds Forth
David Yaffe
November 8, 2014
I remember practicing that lick [from the solo “Round Midnight” recording] years ago, learning how to do that cascade effect.
Herbie Hancock Holds Forth
David Yaffe
November 8, 2014
I don't mean he proved that a thirty- or forty-minute solo is necessarily better than a three-minute one.
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest
Nat Hentoff
October 18, 2014

Historical Examples of solo

Stanton sang a solo, and then all joined in “Auld Lang Syne.”
The Long Labrador Trail
Dillon Wallace
We had been going through the solo soprano parts of the “Paradise Lost.”
The First Violin
Jessie Fothergill
One of the preachers sang a solo, and presided at the organ.
A Woman who went to Alaska
May Kellogg Sullivan
The work is written for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra.
The Standard Oratorios
George P. Upton
That is the solo of human life overpowered by hallelujah chorus.
The Wedding Ring
T. De Witt Talmage

British Dictionary definitions for solo

solo

noun plural -los

plural -los or -li (-liː) a musical composition for one performer with or without accompaniment

any of various card games in which each person plays on his own instead of in partnership with another, such as solo whist

a flight in which an aircraft pilot is unaccompanied

any performance, mountain climb, or other undertaking carried out by an individual without assistance from others
(as modifier)a solo attempt

adjective

music unaccompanieda sonata for cello solo

adverb

by oneself; aloneto fly solo

verb

(intr) to undertake a venture alone, esp to operate an aircraft alone or climb alone

Word Origin for solo

C17: via Italian from Latin sōlus alone, sole 1

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

Word Origin and History for solo

1690s, "piece of music for one voice or instrument," from Italian solo, literally "alone," from Latin solus "alone" (see sole (adj.)). As an adjective in English from 1712, originally in the non-musical sense of "alone, unassisted;" in reference to aircraft flying from 1909. The verb is first attested 1858 in the musical sense, 1886 in a non-musical sense. Related: Soloed; soloing.