sotto voce
Americanadverb
adverb
Etymology
Origin of sotto voce
First recorded in 1730–40; from Italian adverb sottovoce, “in a low voice,” from sotto “under” + voce “voice” ( see origin at voice ( def. ))
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.
John: sotto voce, just barely in range: “In the army, perhaps.”
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2025
But instead, the trip is taking place sotto voce.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2024
Heads bent close in the candlelight, speaking sotto voce, they made an almost rom-com pair.
From New York Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
He was a dazzling stylist, but his rapping always had a riveting sense of proximity — a sotto voce intimacy that allowed you to feel the precise distance between his mouth and your ear.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 19, 2021
He would mumble sotto voce, pausing now and then to emit a murmur that students caricatured as “nim-nim-nim.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
