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tempo

[tem-poh]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tempo ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural tem·pos, tem·pi [tem-pee] /ˈtɛm pi/.

Music. relative rapidity or rate of movement, usually indicated by such terms as adagio, allegro, etc., or by reference to the metronome.
characteristic rate, rhythm, or pattern of work or activity: the tempo of city life.
Chess. the gaining or losing of time and effectiveness relative to one's continued mobility or developing position, especially with respect to the number of moves required to gain an objective: Black gained a tempo.

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RELATED WORDS

pace, cadence, momentum, velocity, downbeat, measure, meter, rate, pulse, time, speed, bounce

Nearby words

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  2. temple terrace,
  3. temple, sir william,
  4. temple, william,
  5. templet,
  6. tempolabile,
  7. tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis,
  8. temporal,
  9. temporal arteritis,
  10. temporal artery

Origin of tempo

1680–90; < Italian < Latin tempus time

a tempo

[ah-tem-poh; Italian ah-tem-paw]

adverb Music.

resuming the speed obtained preceding ritardando or accelerando.

Origin of a tempo

1730–40; < Italian: in (the regular) time
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tempo

British Dictionary definitions for tempo

tempo

noun plural -pos or -pi (-piː)

the speed at which a piece or passage of music is meant to be played, usually indicated by a musical direction (tempo marking) or metronome marking
rate or pace

Word Origin for tempo

C18: from Italian, from Latin tempus time

a tempo

adjective, adverb

to the original tempo

noun

a passage thus marked
Also: tempo primo

Word Origin for a tempo

Italian: in (the original) time
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 tempo

tempo

n.

"relative speed of a piece of music," 1724, from Italian tempo, literally "time" (plural tempi), from Latin tempus (genitive temporis) "time" (see temporal). Extended to non-musical senses 1898.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for tempo

tempo

In music, the speed at which a piece is performed. It is the Italian word for “time.”

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.