tutti
Americanadjective
-
all; all the voices or instruments together.
-
intended for or performed by all (or most of ) the voices or instruments together, as a passage or movement in concert music (opposed to solo).
noun
plural
tuttis-
a tutti passage or movement.
-
the tonal product or effect of a tutti performance.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of tutti
1715–25; < Italian, plural of tutto all
Explanation
The musical instruction tutti means "all together." It's used when all the performers in an orchestra, choir, or ensemble should play the marked passage simultaneously. Tutti is Italian for "all." It usually comes up in a piece of music after a passage where just one or a few of the voices or instruments have been playing, while the others were silent. Then, where it says tutti, the whole choir or orchestra begins singing or playing, so all the different parts are heard in full harmony. This usually means the music is louder, too. It can create a very effective contrast!
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.
But repeating his new mantra about the church as a place of welcome, he said “tutti, tutti, tutti” must be allowed in: Everyone, everyone, everyone.
From Washington Times • Oct. 4, 2023
For example, the masculine form "tutti" is routinely used for "everyone", rather than the feminine "tutte".
From Reuters • Mar. 20, 2023
Yet he also relished hairpin turns during which the music throttled into tutti writing.
From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2022
But the capo di tutti capi, the one-anecdote-to-rule-them-all, goes to Sims, who says that a small wooden box with a red button inside can often be found on the president's desk in the Oval Office.
From BBC • Sep. 11, 2020
Among the actual Italian examples, Barchi’s “Sotto-scrivete” and Mauzan’s “Fate tutti il vostro dovere” alone were notable.
From War Posters Issued by Belligerent and Neutral Nations 1914-1919 by Various
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.
