tempo

American  

[tem-poh] / ˈtɛm poʊ /

noun

plural

tempos, tempi

1. Music. relative rapidity or rate of movement, usually indicated by such terms as adagio, allegro, etc., or by reference to the metronome.

2. characteristic rate, rhythm, or pattern of work or activity.

   the tempo of city life.

3. 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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tempo British  

/ ˈtɛmpəʊ /

noun

1. 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

2. rate or pace

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tempo Cultural  

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

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Etymology

Origin of tempo

1680–90; < Italian < Latin tempus time

Example Sentences

He was as broad as an upright bear and carried a huge stick in both hands, beating the ground in tempo as he marched.

From Literature

Sinatra’s idea, however, was to start with love songs and put them into a swinging, danceable tempo, but at the same time to retain their intrinsic intimacy.

From The Wall Street Journal

Apart from that, there were only brief moments when Scotland's tempo and aggression was right, when they took the game to Japan and gave them a few things to think about.

From BBC

Despite this relative lull in the tempo of Iranian attacks, the growing belief across the Gulf is that things will soon turn for the worse before getting better.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The key for us is always to dominate the tempo of the game," said Bellamy.

From BBC

Related Words

• cadence
• momentum
• pace
• velocity