This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
staccato
[ stuh-kah-toh ]
/ stəˈkɑ toʊ /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
adjective
shortened and detached when played or sung: staccato notes.
characterized by performance in which the notes are abruptly disconnected: a staccato style of playing.Compare legato.
composed of or characterized by abruptly disconnected elements; disjointed: rapid-fire, staccato speech.
adverb
in a staccato manner.
noun, plural stac·ca·tos, stac·ca·ti [stuh-kah-tee]. /stəˈkɑ ti/.
performance in a staccato manner.
a staccato passage.
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!
In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”
Question 1 of 7
The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of staccato
1715–25; <Italian: disconnected, past participle of staccare (derivative of stacca pole <Gothic, but taken as a variant of distaccare to detach)
Words nearby staccato
stabler, stabling, stablish, Stabroek, stacc., staccato, staccato mark, staccato speech, Stacey, stachys, Stacia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use staccato in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for staccato
staccato
/ (stəˈkɑːtəʊ) /
adjective
music (of notes) short, clipped, and separate
characterized by short abrupt sounds, as in speecha staccato command
adverb
(esp used as a musical direction) in a staccato manner
Word Origin for staccato
C18: from Italian, from staccare to detach, shortened from distaccare
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
Cultural definitions for staccato
staccato
[ (stuh-kah-toh) ]
A direction in music meaning that the notes should be performed in an abrupt, sharp, clear-cut manner.
notes for staccato
The term staccato has been applied generally to things that occur in rapid bursts, such as gunfire.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.