solo

American  

[soh-loh] / ˈsoʊ loʊ /

noun

• solos,
  plural
• soli
  plural

1. 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.

2. any performance, as a dance, by one person.

3. 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.

4. a person who works, acts, or performs alone.

   He used to sing with a quartet, but now he's a solo.

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

6. 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.

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

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adjective

1. Music. performing alone.

   a part for solo bassoon.

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

3. alone; without a companion or partner.

   a solo flight.

adverb

1. on one's own; alone or unaccompanied.

   After six lessons he was flying solo.

verb (used without object)

• solos,
  present (3rd person singular)
• soloed,
  past participle,  past
• soloing
  present participle

1. to perform or do a solo.

   to solo on the trumpet.

2. to pilot a plane, glider, etc., unaccompanied, especially for the first time.

   After the course the students should be able to solo.

3. to perform or accomplish something by oneself.

verb (used with object)

• solos,
  present (3rd person singular)
• soloed,
  past participle,  past
• soloing
  present participle

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

2. to allow (a student pilot) to pilot a plane, glider, etc., alone.

   The instructor decided to solo the student.

solo British  

/ ˈsəʊləʊ /

noun

1. a musical composition for one performer with or without accompaniment

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

3. a flight in which an aircraft pilot is unaccompanied

4. 1. any performance, mountain climb, or other undertaking carried out by an individual without assistance from others

   2. ( as modifier )

      a solo attempt

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adjective

1. music unaccompanied

   a sonata for cello solo

adverb

1. by oneself; alone

   to fly solo

verb

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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• soli
  plural
• solos
  plural

Participles

• soloing
  present
• soloed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• solo
  simple
• solos
  simple
• have soloed
  perfect
• has soloed
  perfect
• am soloing
  progressive
• are soloing
  progressive
• is soloing
  progressive
• have been soloing
  perfect progressive
• has been soloing
  perfect progressive

Past

• soloed
  simple
• had soloed
  perfect
• was soloing
  progressive
• were soloing
  progressive
• had been soloing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will solo
  simple
• will have soloed
  perfect
• will be soloing
  progressive
• will have been soloing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of solo

1685–95; < Italian < Latin sōlus alone

Explanation

A versatile word, solo means "alone" and can be used as a verb ("I get to solo in band today"), a noun ("She sang a beautiful solo"), or an adjective (I can't wait for my solo flight"). The word solo is often associated with a musical performance, from the Italian derivative from the Latin sōlum, "alone." Until the end of the 17th century, just the Latin form was used, usually in stage directions. Then it entered musical terminology, as sola, in 1695. The adjectival use developed in the 18th century, and in 1864 the form soloist, referring to one who performed a solo, first appeared. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that the word was used as a verb.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

solo soli solos soloed soloing

In the year since, Lisa has already wrapped up her Blackpink duties and started phase two of her solo career with the single Sawadika.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

The traitors agreed to stay out of the game themselves, before settling on Kemp, Ranganathan, his comic pal Rob Beckett and Little Mix and solo singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Tuesday’s 399-foot solo shot off of Sale’s sinker pushed the lead to 3-0 — a margin that no team has yet overcome against Dodgers’ ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

But the solo set is inspiring precisely because it’s challenging.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

My palms start to sweat thinking about the one last year, where I played the piano and then sang my first solo.

From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan

While the United States is among a smaller group of countries that recognize jus soli, it is not alone in doing so.

From Salon ● May 24, 2026

More than 30 countries - including Canada, Mexico, Malaysia and Lesotho - practise automatic "jus soli", or "right of the soil" without restriction.

From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2025

Foreigners whose nationalities do not meet the jus soli or jus sanguinis principles can become Filipino citizens through the process of naturalization; however, they will have to renounce their previous citizenship.

From Encyclopedia.com ● Dec. 3, 2018

In truth, more than 30 other countries in the Western Hemisphere alone have some form of jus soli, where birth automatically confers citizenship.

From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2018

Crevier prefers to read aut soli aut hi maxime.

From The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Titus Livius

Theirs is that rare music chronicle that offers transcriptions of mandolin solos along with detailed arrest records.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

In a Thursday night marathon, he paid tribute to the orchestra members, giving 17 players solos in various concerto movements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

He has edited his solos a little; they seem more concise, but they still achieve the same goal: liftoff.

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

Known for long solos, Rollins was considered among the best improvisers and told PBS he would go on stage with his mind blank and no plan beyond an awareness of the structure of the piece.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

If he had been a piano player instead of a guitarist, one might say bebop grew from the solos of his right hand while rock and roll grew from the accompaniment of his left.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

He could have free soloed it, he says, but he would have been arrested.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

But the two-time champion soloed to victory on stage 14 and followed that up by dismissing his competition on a gruelling climb to the stage 15 finish in Plateau de Beille.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2024

Vingegaard kept intact his 10-second overall lead over the two-time champion on Sunday as Dutch veteran Wout Poels soloed to victory after a tough trek in the Alps with a mountaintop finish.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 16, 2023

MENDE, France — Michael Matthews soloed to victory on the 14th stage of the Tour de France on Saturday when defending champion Tadej Pogacar tried in vain to regain time on leader Jonas Vingegaard.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 16, 2022

Leclerc had just soloed two major routes on Cerro Torre and Torre Egger in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2021

Honnold, 40, is known for free soloing, or climbing without ropes, harnesses and other equipment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

The crowd was noticeably intergenerational, like the band onstage: Replacing Crazy Horse’s now-retired rhythm guitarist Poncho Sampedro was Willie Nelson’s 33-year-old son, Micah, who beautifully and steadily supported Young’s incandescent soloing.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2024

Moving freely across an expressive horizon reaching from bebop to free improvisation, he enhanced his imaginative soloing with a rich palette of saxophone sounds and textures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2023

Somewhat like her husband, Ms. Mingus could be testy toward the group’s musicians, teasing them at times for playing too loudly or soloing too long.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 27, 2022

If you went to Joshua Tree or Yosemite, you’d see several people free soloing as you did a route.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 2, 2022