solo

noun so·lo \ ˈsō-(ˌ)lō \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

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

Since its debut in February, the Marvel movie has grossed $1.3 billion and become the highest-grossing solo superhero movie of all time.

— eliana dockterman, Time, "Here's a Complete List of All the Upcoming Marvel Movies," 17 Apr. 2018
Senat finished his four-year collegiate career with 178 tackles (104 solo), seven sacks, two forced fumbles and two passes defensed, and had 23.5 tackles for a loss, including 10.5 in his senior season.

— herbie teope, NOLA.com, "New Orleans Saints mock draft 4.0: Going back to Ohio State with Sam Hubbard," 16 Apr. 2018
Karim Bellarabi then went on an outstanding solo run before releasing an unmarked Julian Brandt on the right wing.

— SI.com, "Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich Preview: Classic Encounter, Key Battle, Team News & More," 16 Apr. 2018
Much of his work’s essence lay in solos, created for himself and for others: indeed, in soloism.

— alastair macaulay, New York Times, "Merce Cunningham’s Centennial Will Bring a Global Celebration," 16 Apr. 2018
Verlander was hardly a slouch, allowing only Chirinos' 352-foot solo shot into the Crawford Boxes in the third inning and striking out 11 through eight innings.

— david barron, Houston Chronicle, "Astros drop series finale to Rangers in 10 innings," 16 Apr. 2018
Beyoncé not only made history as the first woman of color to headline the festival solo, but her performance even inspired a new name for the nearly 20-year-old event: #BeyChella.

— kate stanhope, latimes.com, "Check out Beyoncé's full Coachella set list," 15 Apr. 2018
Stefani also posed solo for photos backstage and showed off her red-hot outfit, which was topped off with a pair of thigh-high boots.

— melody chiu, PEOPLE.com, "Cute Couple Alert! Blake Shelton Brings Gwen Stefani as His Date to the ACMs," 15 Apr. 2018
The night’s program will also feature other pieces by Glass, including solo piano music, duos and more.

— john adamian, courant.com, "Philip Glass Premieres 'Annunciation' At Asylum Hill," 14 Apr. 2018

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

In Mexico City, Mujica had said the capital was the caravan’s last official stop, but many of the migrants feared going solo on the dangerous final leg north and decided to keep travelling en masse.

— Washington Post, "Remnants of migrant caravan move toward US-Mexico border," 18 Apr. 2018
The sharks traveled solo 89 percent of the time, and the majority of the rest were found in small groups.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Massive Gathering of Mysterious Basking Sharks Found in Aerial Photos," 13 Apr. 2018
The Kates, started XX Will Travel in May, 2015, so there would be a place for women to find support for their journeys, be they solo or with a friend or partner.

— tori szekeres, Chicago Reader, "Arts / Gender Issues / Media The XX Will Travel podcast encourages women to travel fearlessly," 11 Apr. 2018
Fifth Harmony's Jauregui also opened about going solo in a recent interview with Playboy.

— mitchell peters, Billboard, "Normani Kordei, Lauren Jauregui Talk Going Solo After Fifth Harmony Hiatus," 27 Mar. 2018
But after it was outbid by Universal Music Group, BMG was forced to go solo.

— ryan faughnder, latimes.com, "With documentaries on David Crosby and Joan Jett, music company BMG is pushing into the film business," 3 Apr. 2018
While the 100-person format is common, players can choose to go solo, pair up with a friend, or join a four-person squad.

— brett molina, USA TODAY, "This is how to play 'Fortnite' on your iPhone (hint: you need an invite)," 16 Mar. 2018
On Wednesday, Rincon sang it solo during a campus vigil to remember her friend, one of the six people who died during last week's bridge collapse.

— alan gomez, USA TODAY, "Florida International University mourns victims of bridge collapse," 21 Mar. 2018
Salvador Perez, Cheslor Cuthbert and Alcides Escobar also served up solo bombs.

— maria torres, kansascity, "Royals 10, Giants 1: Power output continues with five more KC homers | The Kansas City Star," 21 Mar. 2018

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

Covington jumped ahead first in the game on a solo home run by Sean Cothern.

— andrew scherer, NOLA.com, "Mandeville 8, Covington 3: Jake Laws and Spencer Andres combine for 3 home runs, 8 RBI in district win," 19 Apr. 2018
Only three earned runs — all on solo home runs — too. Replicating the dominance and the manner in which it was achieved borders upon impossible.

— chandler rome, Houston Chronicle, "Astros return to standard operating procedure in win over Mariners," 19 Apr. 2018
But closer Shane Greene blew a save for the first time in four tries by allowing a solo home run to Luis Sardinas to start the ninth.

— anthony fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Dixon Machado, Miguel Cabrera power Detroit Tigers to 6-5 win," 18 Apr. 2018
Senior Nick Campana led both games off with solo home runs while Junior TJ Ward went 4-for-4 from the plate in game one.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "Regional Digest: Stanton Scores 200th Goal, Wesleyan Wins On Senior Day," 14 Apr. 2018
Jillian Dunn hit a pair of solo home runs for Tantasqua.

— nate weitzer, BostonGlobe.com, "Reading boys’ lacrosse learning, winning," 11 Apr. 2018
But Mancini popped out, struggling second baseman Jonathan Schoop grounded into a double play, and the Blue Jays pulled ahead for good on a solo home run from Curtis Granderson with two outs in the ninth inning off reliever Darren O'Day.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles break up no-nit bid with late rally but fall to Blue Jays, 2-1," 11 Apr. 2018
Another way to grasp the prodigious intentionality, as well as the great joy, at play in Taylor’s music is to watch a solo piano performance.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "The Deceptively Accessible Music of Cecil Taylor," 10 Apr. 2018
The Longhorns added another run in the bottom of the third inning on a solo home run by von Sprecken to push the Texas lead to 4-0.

— samford athletics, AL.com, "Samford softball falls in series finale at Texas, 4-0," 8 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of solo

1774

solo Synonyms

Phrases

on one's own;

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

How did Camila go from girl group refugee to solo star with a bona fide hit in less than a year?

— joe lynch, Billboard, "From Girl Group Veteran to Solo Star: How Camila Cabello Scored Her Biggest Hit Yet With 'Havana'," 6 Nov. 2017
Now the claim made frequently on behalf of free playing is that everyone solos all the time.

— geoff dyer, New York Times, "My Obsession With the Necks, the Greatest Trio on Earth," 4 Oct. 2017
Some children take naturally to solo play; others require more guidance to get their imaginations rolling.

— tehrene firman, Redbook, "7 Ways You Can Teach Your Kid to Spend Time Alone Without Throwing a Tablet in Their Face," 29 Sep. 2017
The One Direction singer is trying to make the leap from boy-band idol to solo star.

— greg kot, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago's top fall concerts — from Riot Fest to Jay-Z," 8 Sep. 2017
Concertmaster Luigi Mazzocchi had a lovely shape and deep glow in his extended solo, but this was not the Sleeping Beauty solo many violinists like to play.

— peter dobrin, Philly.com, "Dancers, what dancers? Our classical music critic weighs in on The Sleeping Beauty's music," 13 Oct. 2017
Some children take naturally to solo play

— tehrene firman, Redbook, "7 Ways You Can Teach Your Kid to Spend Time Alone Without Throwing a Tablet in Their Face," 29 Sep. 2017
Fulmer pitched two effective innings with the only blemish a Logan Morrison solo home run.

— chris kuc, chicagotribune.com, "Coming off first career win, Carson Fulmer's role could expand for White Sox," 4 Sep. 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

First Known Use of solo

1886

SOLO Defined for English Language Learners

solo

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

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

Definition of solo

Examples of solo in a Sentence

Recent Examples of solo from the Web

Origin and Etymology of solo

Other Performing Arts Terms

solo

Definition of solo

Recent Examples of solo from the Web

First Known Use of solo

solo

Definition of solo

Examples of solo in a Sentence

Recent Examples of solo from the Web

First Known Use of solo

solo Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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solo

Definition of solo

Examples of solo in a Sentence

Recent Examples of solo from the Web

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SOLO Defined for English Language Learners

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Definition of solo for English Language Learners

solo

Definition of solo for English Language Learners

solo

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SOLO Defined for Kids

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