allegro

1 of 2

noun

al·​le·​gro ə-ˈle-(ˌ)grō How to pronounce allegro (audio) -ˈlā- How to pronounce allegro (audio)
plural allegros
: a musical composition or movement in allegro tempo

allegro

2 of 2

adverb or adjective

: at a brisk lively tempo
used as a direction in music

Examples of allegro in a Sentence

Noun The symphony's first movement is an allegro.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The Quest For Precision: AI's Grand Allegro In the realm of AI, precision is the grand allegro—a swift, soaring leap toward excellence. Kannan Venkatraman, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 The movement’s main tempo felt more andante than the marked allegro. Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 9 Sep. 2023 The Molto allegro finale has been thought to represent the pumping of ship engines. Jeffrey Gantz, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Feb. 2023 In a drying and warming world, fast-developing meat-eaters and the allegro-singing fathers that sire them might have an edge. Jason P. Dinh, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2022 The allegro has gestural spans that collapse if not sustained, and these were carried over the entire work. Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2022 Surely that means just a little slower than the main allegro. Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 17 Sep. 2021 In second gear, his singing V-8 seems to jump tempo, allegro to presto. Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 29 May 2020 In late May 1784, in a Viennese shop, Mozart heard a starling singing a motif strikingly similar to the allegro movement of his Piano Concerto No. New York Times, 11 Feb. 2020

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

Word History

Etymology

Adverb or adjective

Italian, merry, from Vulgar Latin *alecrus lively, alteration of Latin alacr-, alacer

First Known Use

Noun

1683, in the meaning defined above

Adverb Or Adjective

circa 1721, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of allegro was in 1683

Dictionary Entries Near allegro

Cite this Entry

“Allegro.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allegro. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

allegro

1 of 2 noun
al·​le·​gro ə-ˈleg-rō How to pronounce allegro (audio) -ˈlā-grō How to pronounce allegro (audio)
plural allegros
: a piece or movement in allegro tempo

allegro

2 of 2 adverb or adjective
: in a brisk lively manner
used as a direction in music

More from Merriam-Webster on allegro

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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