tutti

1 of 2

adjective or adverb

tut·​ti ˈtü-tē How to pronounce tutti (audio)
ˈtu̇-;
ˈtü-ˌtē,
ˈtu̇- How to pronounce tutti (audio)
: with all voices or instruments performing together
used as a direction in music

tutti

2 of 2

noun

: a passage or section performed by all the performers

Examples of tutti in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Every detail is audible, even within a healthy tutti. Zachary Lewis, cleveland, 3 Oct. 2022 Langrée’s palms tensed into claws as Ravel’s final five bars reared up, its bombastic tutti collapsing into the arms of an audience that roared its approval. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 20 May 2022 When first violins shriek out the opening fanfare’s return in a fearsome orchestra tutti, that section can feel like a sudden reckoning, a strike from the heavens. Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2022 For the first time, outbursts of minor and diminished chords appear to darken the sky, and these caprices of mood were thoughtfully emphasized by tutti and soloist. Lukas Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2022 The lone call of the magic horn that sounds at its outset trails off into a misty landscape, a trickling brook, a waking dawn and the blunt-force thwack of a cold-water tutti. Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2022 But Reimann achieves an exemplary balance by alternating his scalding eruptions of vocal power (which in general are sparsely accompanied, sometimes by percussion alone) with full-throttle tutti blasts from the orchestra. Matthew Aucoin, The New York Review of Books, 7 Dec. 2019 The blend of Beethoven snippets is kaleidoscopic, and with the two sonic planes — string quartet versus massive tutti — add to the dizzying effort of chasing the ever-changing focal points. Corinna Da Fonseca-Wollheim, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tutti.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective or adverb

Italian, masculine plural of tutto all, from Vulgar Latin *tottus, alteration of Latin totus

First Known Use

Adjective Or Adverb

circa 1724, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1816, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tutti was circa 1724

Dictionary Entries Near tutti

Cite this Entry

“Tutti.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tutti. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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