How to Use tempo in a Sentence

tempo

noun
  • The tempo of the game slowed down.
  • The song has a slow tempo.
  • We walked at a fast tempo.
  • The dance starts out fast and then switches tempo.
  • The composition has many changes of tempo.
  • Payne pushed the tempo as the Suns played faster with him in the lineup.
    Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 15 May 2023
  • Yet the breadth and the tempo of the changes were remarkable.
    Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2025
  • The aim was to return the tempo to the same rate as when the song began.
    Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2021
  • So the West Coast was always like, take the tempo down, right?
    Cecily Cruz, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2023
  • But though the tempo of her music was fast, the vibe was placid.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2023
  • The tempo tracks my reps and gives feedback on my form.
    The Glamour Editors, Glamour, 4 Jan. 2023
  • From there, the Bobcats controlled the tempo much of the rest of the period.
    Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Not like, score a lot, but just be in control of the game and in control of the tempo.
    Shawn McFarland, courant.com, 23 Mar. 2021
  • Home in on your tempo and add a pause halfway through the lift to keep your hips in the right place.
    Brett Williams, Men's Health, 30 Nov. 2022
  • The soundtrack is a funky kind of samba-soul and the vibe is just as up-tempo as the beat.
    Angelina Villa-Clarke, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2022
  • And of course there's melody and there's rhythm and tempo and all of that stuff, but to me, the story is what grabs me.
    Steve Baltin, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2022
  • The tempo was faster than any game that year for Louisville, but Evans felt right at home.
    Cameron Teague Robinson, The Courier-Journal, 15 Apr. 2021
  • There’s going to be times in the huddle where maybe the tempo’s not great.
    Brad Biggs, chicagotribune.com, 9 Nov. 2021
  • Fukushima: One of the unique things about the song is how the tempo drops way down during the chorus.
    Billboard Japan, Billboard, 8 Feb. 2024
  • But Osceola would control the tempo for the rest of the half.
    Staff Reports, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Dec. 2024
  • And the tempo of the song starts out slow but then gets very fast very quickly … boom boom boom.
    Barbra Streisand, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2023
  • Knight urged his team to keep the tempo up and not fall for the tricks the Sentinels were throwing at them.
    The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Oct. 2021
  • There’s no game where the tempo is more important than The Game.
    Stephen Means, cleveland, 26 Nov. 2022
  • The game opens at a steady tempo and then hits a sudden and massive spike.
    Jonathan Lee, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2022
  • The Wizards like to run and shoot but the Mustangs controlled the tempo in the second half.
    Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Passages loop and repeat, and there are out-of-the-blue tempo changes.
    Mick Stevens, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2021
  • As the tempo rose, a perimeter of cellphone screens formed around them.
    Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023
  • The game was high-tempo with both teams moving up and down the court quickly.
    Sam Blum, Dallas News, 3 Dec. 2020
  • David doubles his tempo to the finish, then jumps to his feet.
    Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Does the tempo or style of music impact the speed at which customers shop?
    Allbusiness, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025

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

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