solo

play

noun so·lo \ ˈsō-(ˌ)lō \

Definition of solo

plural solos

1 or plural soli play \ˈsō-(ˌ)lē\

a :a musical composition for a single voice or instrument with or without accompaniment

b :the featured part of a concerto or similar work

2 :a performance in which the performer has no partner or associate :something undertaken or done alone

a student pilot's first solo

3 :any of several card games in which a player elects to play without a partner against the other players

See solo defined for English-language learners

See solo defined for kids

Examples of solo in a Sentence

She is learning to fly and she flew her first solo yesterday.

Recent Examples of solo from the Web

His only miscue: an opposite field solo homer by Christian Yelich.

— by clark spencer, miamiherald, "Miami Marlins fall to Washington Nationals, 11-2," 28 Aug. 2017
Serving as guest concertmaster for the night, Storm made her solo debut at 14 with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra in Ukraine, where she was born.

— bob kostanczuk, Post-Tribune, "American music sparks Labor Day weekend concert," 25 Aug. 2017
Many doctors are today employed by hospitals or health care institutions, rather than working for themselves in traditional solo or small-group private practices.

— rachel bluth, Kaiser Health News, "Doctors Warm To Single-Payer Health Care," 16 Aug. 2017
Join me on but a few delicious moments from a recent solo trip to Hong Kong.

— andrea bartz, Redbook, "Why I Stopped Waiting for a Partner & Started Traveling the World," 10 Aug. 2017
Tacoma tied the score at 7-7 in the ninth when Motter hit a solo home run.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "Nashville gets past Tacoma in 10 innings," 8 Aug. 2017
But a new study suggests that in recent years, people have felt increasingly lonely and isolated—and the physical and psychological ramifications of all this solo time could prove to be a bigger health threat than the obesity epidemic.

— julia naftulin, Health.com, "Loneliness Could Become an Even Bigger Public Health Threat Than Obesity," 7 Aug. 2017
Getty Selena Gomez has been absolutely wowing us with the songs from her upcoming third solo album.

— kayleigh roberts, Marie Claire, "Selena Gomez Slipped in a Clue About Her Next Single During an Instagram Live Session," 6 Aug. 2017
Sixteen bands and solo artists performed over the course of six hours at the Riverwalk Amphitheater, the Riverwalk Cafe and an acoustic stage set up at the Dandelion Fountain.

— mary salatino, Naperville Sun, "Make Music Naperville a bonding experience for artists, community," 5 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'solo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of solo

Italian, from solo alone, from Latin solus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1695

See Words from the same year

Other Performing Arts Terms

diva, dramaturgy, loge, prestidigitation, proscenium, supernumerary, zany

solo

adverb

Definition of solo

:without a companion :alone

fly solo

Recent Examples of solo from the Web

Wade even got out of the car and let his son drive solo, though that was only in the driveway.

— alysha tsuji, USA TODAY, "D-Wade Snapchats son nervously driving his Ferrari," 19 Aug. 2017
Accordion player Jeffery Broussard was a member of the band Zydeco Force before going solo with his backing band the Creole Cowboys.

— john adamian, courant.com, "Accordion Player Jeffery Broussard At Cafe Nine," 16 Aug. 2017
As for Faris, the Mom star was seen driving solo through Los Angeles Monday.

— dana rose falcone, PEOPLE.com, "Chris Pratt's Rapid Rise to Fame Was a Factor in Anna Faris Split: 'They Didn't Have a Roadmap for What This Would All Be Like'," 15 Aug. 2017
The performance was more expansive and fit the high energy music well, the men leaping and spinning with ready exuberance, Ayers offering a smoother, balletic solo before joining their fray, pushed by the thudding drum and tingling tambourine.

— by libby hanssen, kansascity, "Wild dance concludes Kansas City Baroque Consortium’s summer series," 12 Aug. 2017
In 1993, Montoya, who along with fellow Bluesbreakers guitarist Walter Trout often opened the band’s shows, decided to go solo.

— l. kent wolgamott, sacbee, "Coco Montoya’s ‘Hard Truth’ heads to Winters," 10 Aug. 2017
One by one, everyone went solo into the middle of the circle, trying to impress with backflips, headstands and popping and locking.

— zachariah durr, cleveland.com, "Cavaliers' Scream Team searches for 'wow factor' in auditions for 2017-18 season (video)," 7 Aug. 2017
Brantley Cargill, retired Navy vet and executive vice president of Flags for Vets, frequently assists with the installations and came to Idaho with Popwell, although Popwell has worked solo before.

— michelle jenkins, idahostatesman, "Flags for Vets travels to Idaho to honor local veterans," 3 July 2017
Three months may have passed since Camila Cabello abruptly left Fifth Harmony to go solo, but fans are still understandably mourning her loss.

— noelle devoe, Seventeen, "John Mayer Has the Weirdest Explanation for Why 5H Will Never Be the Same Without Camila Cabello," 6 Apr. 2017

First Known Use of solo

1712

solo

adjective

Definition of solo

1 :accommodating one person

a solo canoe

2 :of, relating to, or being a solo

a solo performance

a solo flight

3 :hit with no runners on base

a solo home run

See solo defined for English-language learners

Examples of solo in a Sentence

a student pilot's first solo flight
She left the band last year and started a solo career.
He just issued his first solo album.

Recent Examples of solo from the Web

Brent Gillespie had opened the scoring with a solo home run to right field in the top of the fourth inning, and Cuthrell tied the score with his tenth home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth, a line-drive over the left field wall.

— enquirer, Cincinnati.com, "Freedom qualify for Frontier League playoffs," 29 Aug. 2017
Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane and Lauren Jauregui are set to go their separate ways, and possibly pursue solo careers the way Cabello did, reports UK’s The Sun.

— miamiherald, "And then there were none: Fifth Harmony rumored to be breaking up," 28 Aug. 2017
LHP Cole Irvin gave up three runs in eight innings, including a pair of solo home runs to C Austin Wynns, to fall to 5-3, 4.34 ERA.

— ed barkowitz, Philly.com, "Minor League Report: Scott Kingery keeps on hitting; Dylan Cozens in a funk," 18 Aug. 2017
Abreu had three hits, including two solo home runs, Saturday and became the first player in team history to begin his major-league career with four straight 20 home run seasons.

— paul skrbina, chicagotribune.com, "Lessons continue for rebuilding White Sox during rough weekend," 14 Aug. 2017
The left-handed batter was the final of three hitters to smack consecutive solo home runs for the Drillers in a 12-1 thumping of the Springfield Cardinals in Oklahoma.

— andrew j. campa, Glendale News-Press, "Minor League Update: Glendale Community College’s Gailen continues to impress," 3 Aug. 2017
The ball was ruled a solo home run, and it was upheld after a review that spanned nearly three minutes.

— sam mcdowell, kansascity, "Royals break losing skid with 6-4 victory against Mariners," 3 Aug. 2017
Third baseman Chris Johnson, also in Aberdeen on rehab assignment from Norfolk, belted a two-out, solo home run to give the IronBirds a 1-0 lead.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "Aberdeen IronBirds open season with 11-2 loss," 21 June 2017
Hon gave up a solo home run in the second inning to first baseman Brooke Stralow, but the Fillies could only get one other runner as far as second base despite going down in order only once.

— jim haas, Daily Southtown, "Johnson cashes in for Beecher," 2 June 2017

First Known Use of solo

1774

solo Synonyms

Synonyms

lone, lonely, lonesome, single, solitary, alone, unaccompanied

Antonyms

accompanied

Near Antonyms

attended, chaperoned, escorted; adjacent, adjoining, communicating, contiguous, neighboring, next-door; attached, connected, coupled, linked

solo

verb

Definition of solo

soloed; soloing play \ˈsō-(ˌ)lō-iŋ, -lə-wiŋ\

intransitive verb

:to perform by oneself: such as

a :to perform a musical solo

b :to fly an airplane without one's instructor on board

transitive verb

1 :to fly (an aircraft) alone

2 :to climb (something, such as a mountain) alone

See solo defined for English-language learners

Examples of solo in a Sentence

The guitarist solos on practically every song.
She soloed for the first time yesterday.

Recent Examples of solo from the Web

An ongoing source of inspiration was Mia’s mother, Michella Thomas, who swam across the Catalina Channel solo four years ago.

— diane bell, sandiegouniontribune.com, "In the dark: John Coleman reports from the heart of the eclipse," 21 Aug. 2017
Adams on Friday finished 15 strokes better than his 89 on Thursday and vaulted from a tie for 16th-place to solo second place.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Defending champ Miller earns 36-hole lead in Alaska State Am golf," 5 Aug. 2017
Since One Direction went on hiatus in 2016, Styles hasn’t quite walked the typical frontboy’s route to solo stardom.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Harry Styles and Rihanna Nail the Pop Star as Actor," 24 July 2017
Farinacci, a Solon native and one of the bright stars in today's jazz international jazz scene, conducts and solos with an 18-member big band to mark the legacy of Cleveland's Stokes brothers, Carl and Louis.

— chuck yarborough, cleveland.com, "Nighttown tribute to the Stokes brothers, Third Eye Blind, Gin Blossoms: Also Playing," 5 July 2017
In an interview with the New York Times, producer No I.D. spoke about the honor of being the first producer to solo produce a JAY-Z album.

— lilian min, Cosmopolitan, "Beyoncé Approved Every Song on JAY-Z's New Album, According to His Producer," 3 July 2017
Pinterest There wasn’t a tear in sight when Camila Cabello took the Billboard Music Awards stage Sunday to perform her debut solo single.

— nicole sands, PEOPLE.com, "Camila Cabello Delivers Explosive Performance of Debut Single ‘Crying in the Club’ at the Billboard Music Awards," 22 May 2017

First Known Use of solo

1886

SOLO Defined for English Language Learners

solo

play

noun

Definition of solo for English Language Learners

: a piece of music that is performed by one singer or musician
: something that is done without another person

solo

adjective

Definition of solo for English Language Learners

: done without another person
: involving or done by a single performer instead of a group
baseball : hit with no runners on base

solo

verb

Definition of solo for English Language Learners

: to perform a piece of music without another singer or musician
: to fly an airplane without an instructor

SOLO Defined for Kids

solo

play

noun so·lo \ ˈsō-lō \

Definition of solo for Students

plural solos

1 :a piece of music performed by one singer or musician

a piano solo

2 :an action done alone

The pilot flew his first solo.

solo

adverb or adjective

Definition of solo for Students

:without another person :alone

fly solo

a solo dancer

solo

verb

Definition of solo for Students

soloed; soloing

:to do something (as perform music or fly an airplane) alone or without an instructor

Learn More about solo

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for solo Spanish Central: Translation of solo Nglish: Translation of solo for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of solo for Arabic speakers

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solo

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solo

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SOLO Defined for English Language Learners

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