tempo

noun tem·po \ ˈtem-(ˌ)pō \

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Definition of tempo

plural tempi play \ˈtem-(ˌ)pē\ or tempos

1 : the rate of speed of a musical piece or passage indicated by one of a series of directions (such as largo, presto, or allegro) and often by an exact metronome marking

2 : rate of motion or activity : pace

See tempo defined for English-language learners

See tempo defined for kids

Examples of tempo in a Sentence

The song has a slow tempo.
The composition has many changes of tempo.
We walked at a fast tempo.
The tempo of the game slowed down.
The dance starts out fast and then switches tempo.

Recent Examples of tempo from the Web

While first emerging nearly two decades ago, the Osprey tiltrotor aircraft has seen an unprecedented uptick in deployments, mission scope and operational tempo.

— kris osborn, Fox News, "Marine Corps arms Osprey with rockets and missiles - adds assault missions," 6 July 2018
Bacon could benefit from Borrego’s emphasis on upping the offensive tempo; Borrego wants his team attacking aggressively in the first five to eight seconds of a possession.

— rick bonnell, charlotteobserver, "Why Charlotte Hornets' new coaching staff likes a big slice of Dwayne Bacon," 3 July 2018
His smugness vanished when Foster immediately upped the tempo.

— gary kamiya, SFChronicle.com, "When Miles Davis and Charlie Parker were in SF, this was the go-to club," 23 June 2018
Wet Bus masters the tempo while Alterboyz falls victim to it.

— steve heisler, Chicago Reader, "The two improv teams in Oh Hell Yeah demonstrate that timing is everything," 22 June 2018
That band released two albums of swirling, up-tempo fusion — a rough hybrid of early Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi and Chicago.

— giovanni russonello, New York Times, "Bill Watrous, Trombonist and Bandleader, Is Dead at 79," 11 July 2018
Does that work with Walton, who cherishes the up-tempo game, and a bunch of youngsters who love to run?

— bruce jenkins, SFChronicle.com, "LeBron James’ Lakers may win someday, but not now," 7 July 2018
As Kupchak said repeatedly Friday, the Hornets felt Howard wouldn’t fit the more up-tempo, quick-decision offensive style new coach James Borrego intends to play.

— rick bonnell, charlotteobserver, "If Dwight Howard accepted a $5 million buyout, did Charlotte Hornets make right move?," 7 July 2018
This particular Florida State team is going to look much different than last year, starting with Taggart’s up-tempo Gulf Coast offense.

— jake lourim, The Courier-Journal, "How Louisville football can (and can't) beat Florida State," 6 July 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of tempo

Italian, literally, time, from Latin tempus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1724

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, refrain, riff, segue

TEMPO Defined for English Language Learners

tempo

noun

Definition of tempo for English Language Learners

: the speed at which a musical piece is played or sung
: the speed at which something moves or happens

TEMPO Defined for Kids

tempo

noun tem·po \ ˈtem-pō \

Definition of tempo for Students

plural tempi \-ˌpē\ or tempos

: the rate of speed at which a musical composition is played or sung

Word Root of tempo

The Latin word tempus, meaning “time,”and its form temporis give us the roots temp and tempor. Words from the Latin tempus have something to do with time. Something temporary lasts only a short time. Someone or something contemporary lives or occurs at the same time as someone or something else. A tempo is the speed at which music is performed in time.