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so·lo | \ ˈsō-(ˌ)lō 
\
\ plural solos
Definition of solo
(Entry 1 of 4)
1 or plural soli\ 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
solo
adverbDefinition of solo (Entry 2 of 4)
: without a companion : alone fly solo
solo
adjectiveDefinition of solo (Entry 3 of 4)
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
solo
verbsoloed; soloing\ ˈsō-(ˌ)lō-iŋ , -lə-wiŋ \
, -lə-wiŋ \Definition of solo (Entry 4 of 4)
: to perform by oneself: such as
a : to perform a musical solo
b : to fly an airplane without one's instructor on board
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Examples of solo in a Sentence
Noun
She is learning to fly and she flew her first solo yesterday. Adjective
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. Verb
The guitarist solos on practically every song.
She soloed for the first time yesterday.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Wilson has released several albums as a solo artist.
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Tim Stelloh, NBC News, "Brian Wilson wants fans to boycott Beach Boys over show at hunting event with Trump Jr.," 4 Feb. 2020 The song also logged 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Charts, setting a new mark for a solo female artist.
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Lars Brandle, Billboard, "Tones And I's 'Dance Monkey' Recognized For 1 Billion Streams," 4 Feb. 2020 Okara Imani and responding to music in the moment
An alum of Lawrence Central High School and IPFW, Imani plans to release her first recordings as a solo artist this year.
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David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, "Art & Soul performers spotlight the right to vote, urge others not to waste it," 1 Feb. 2020 Participating in this event last year with my band inspired me to enter again this year as a solo artist.
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Chuck Yarborough, cleveland, "2020 Tri-C High School Rock Off: Meet the bands," 30 Jan. 2020 She's been a solo artist since leaving at the end of 2016.
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Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, "Camila Cabello Performs Emotional Tribute to Her Father at Grammys," 27 Jan. 2020 Raybon, born in Greenville, is the lead singer of Shenandoah, as well as a solo artist.
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Mary Colurso | Mcolurso@al.com, al, "Grammy Awards 2020: Time, channel, performers, how to watch," 26 Jan. 2020 His highlight with the team came during the 2015 AL wild-card game against the Yankees, a solo homer in a 3-0 win.
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Matt Wyatt, Houston Chronicle, "Report: Carlos Gomez planning to retire," 17 Jan. 2020 As solo artists, Brady and Les have followed more direct impulses, creating wistful, experimental pop and hip-hop.
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Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, "100 gecs’ Musical Scrap Yard," 13 Jan. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb K-Ci Hailey initially went solo in 2006 with debut album My Book.
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Gail Mitchell, Billboard, "K-Ci Hailey Signs With P Music Group, Relaunches Solo Career: Exclusive," 16 Dec. 2019 Once Mis-Teeq broke up, Alesha went solo, releasing an album called Fired Up in 2005.
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Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'AGT: The Champions' Judge Alesha Dixon Once Called Simon Cowell Out for His "Meowing"," 7 Jan. 2020 Don’t go solo Dim sum is traditionally meant to be experienced with a group.
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Anna Kang, Time, "How to Order Dim Sum, According to the Head Chef of the First Chinese Restaurant in North America to Receive a Michelin Star," 18 Dec. 2019 Go solo and swim some laps, or consider a group fitness class like water aerobics or aqua spin for a fun twist on traditional cycling.
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Stephanie Mansour, NBC News, "Hate cold weather? Stay fit (and warm) and have some fun with these indoor workouts.," 9 Jan. 2020 Hovland, 22, placed solo fourth at last season’s Wyndham Championship for the best result of his young career.
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Esten Mclaren, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, "QBE Shootout odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets," 10 Dec. 2019 Kristen Bell walked the Frozen 2 red carpet premiere solo but her husband Dax Shepard wasn’t far from her mind!
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Alexia Fernandez, PEOPLE.com, "Kristen Bell Says Husband Dax Shepard Is a 'Mountain Man' But Can Be 'Vulnerable'," 8 Nov. 2019 Over the past 29 years, Khajavi has attempted solo swims across the choppy 20.1-mile channel between Los Angeles and Catalina Island nine times.
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Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Catalina channel swimmer, 66, undaunted by latest setback," 3 Oct. 2019 During their long hiatus, Zack de la Rocha went solo, last releasing an album in 2016, while three members — Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford — joined forces with Public Enemy’s Chuck D and B-Real of Cypress Hill as Prophets Of Rage.
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Variety Staff, chicagotribune.com, "Rage Against the Machine announces 2020 reunion — Coachella included," 1 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Both earned runs were solo homers surrendered by Ray, who lasted 2 1/3 innings and threw 46 pitches (31 strikes) against the Modesto Nuts.
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Arizona Republic, azcentral, "Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray 'felt good' during first rehab start on Thursday," 15 June 2018 Adam Hadwin Already finished solo second and T4 this season.
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Esten Mclaren, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, "ZOZO Championship: Fantasy Golf Power Rankings," 22 Oct. 2019 Both of those hits were solo home runs in the eighth.
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Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Tigers observations: Daniel Norris overpowered by Royals in loss," 11 Aug. 2019 Anderson only allowed three hits in five innings, but two were solo home runs and the third was a run-scoring single off the bat of Cubs center fielder Albert Almora.
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Kerry Crowley, The Mercury News, "Giants’ magic continues with another thrilling comeback, Panik stuns the Cubs," 22 July 2019 Age: 31 | World ranking: 63 | Best British Open finish: T35, 2018
Canadian player has two top-sixes in his last three starts, including a solo fourth two weeks ago at the John Deere.
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Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, "Ranking the Top 100 Players at the 2019 British Open," 16 July 2019 Rookie Dario Agrazal allowed solo home runs to Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal, and that was largely it as the Brewers followed up their big 10-inning win the night before with a 12-2 stinker at PNC Park.
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Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Pirates 12, Brewers 2: Nightmare performance all the way around," 6 July 2019 The problem is that four of the hits were solo home runs, including two by Rafael Devers.
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Jeff Wilson, star-telegram, "Rangers Rangers: A connection to Harvey, but how much would be gained by adding him?," 4 May 2018 Mantle got to him for a solo home run in the fourth inning and the Yankees got another run in the sixth on a single by Andy Carey, a sacrifice bunt by Larsen and a single by Hank Bauer.
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Mike Kupper, Los Angeles Times, "Don Larsen, only pitcher to throw a perfect game in World Series, dies at 90," 1 Jan. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Peter Dinklage earned the show’s only solo acting nod this year, for his performance as Tyrion Lannister.
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Tyler Aquilina, EW.com, "Euron Greyjoy actor Pilou Asbæk says Game of Thrones ending was 'perfect'," 20 Jan. 2020 The array of control options help solo producers and streamers cue up sound effects, display titles, mix audio, and more.
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Time, "The 25 Best Products of CES 2020," 9 Jan. 2020 Riviera River Cruises is one company that specifically caters to solo travelers, with a variety of routes points and exclusive departures for solo travelers.
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Caitlin Morton, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Best Solo Vacations to Take in 2020," 2 Jan. 2020 Here are the ways in which Styles has expertly navigated the path to solo stardom while maintaining an air of authenticity.
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Washington Post, "How Harry Styles navigated solo stardom, from One Direction to ‘Fine Line’," 13 Dec. 2019 Like her son would one day do, Hargreaves also soloed all six Great North Faces of the Alps in a single summer season.
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Andrew Bisharat, National Geographic, "Hope dims for climbers missing on the 'Killer Mountain'," 6 Mar. 2019 Even Lennon, who barely played on his bandmates’ songs, rouses himself to solo eloquently on several tracks.
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Jonathan Gould, The New Yorker, "When the Beatles Walked Offstage: Fifty Years of “Abbey Road”," 21 Oct. 2019 However, bassoonist Ryan Simmons rarely gets to solo in the symphony, and violinist Julia Pautz and violist Ethan Pernela are both subsumed by their orchestral sections.
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San Diego Union-Tribune, "Review: Symphony’s wind players shine in East County ECHO chamber recital," 29 Sep. 2019 In recent years, Auer had turned his attention to soloing and climbing first ascents on difficult 7,000-meter mountains in the Himalaya and the Karakoram, such as Lupghar Sar West (7,157 meters) in Pakistan.
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Andrew Bisharat, National Geographic, "Three top mountain climbers presumed dead in avalanche," 18 Apr. 2019
See MoreThese 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.
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More Definitions for solo
solo
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of solo
(Entry 1 of 3)
: a piece of music that is performed by one singer or musician
: something that is done without another person
solo
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of solo (Entry 2 of 3)
: done without another person
: involving or done by a single performer instead of a group
baseball : hit with no runners on base
solo
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of solo (Entry 3 of 3)
: to perform a piece of music without another singer or musician
: to fly an airplane without an instructor
See the full definition for solo in the English Language Learners Dictionary
solo
nounso·lo | \ ˈsō-lō \
\ plural solos
Kids Definition of solo
(Entry 1 of 3)
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 adjectiveKids Definition of solo (Entry 2 of 3)
: without another person : alone fly solo a solo dancer
solo
verbsoloed; soloing
Kids Definition of solo (Entry 3 of 3)
: to do something (as perform music or fly an airplane) alone or without an instructor
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Time Traveler for solo
The first known use of solo was in 1695
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