Meaning of staccato in English

staccato

adjective, adverb

/stəˈkɑː.təʊ/ us

/stəˈkɑː.t̬oʊ/

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used to describe musical notes that are short and separate when played, or this way of playing music:

The music suddenly changed from a smooth melody to a staccato rhythm.

She played the whole piece staccato to improve her technique.

used to describe a noise or way of speaking that consists of a series of short and separate sounds:

She gave staccato replies to every question.

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Technical music terms

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Describing qualities of sound

(Definition of staccato from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

staccato | American Dictionary

staccato

adjective, adverb

/stəˈkɑt̬·oʊ/

Add to word list Add to word list

(of music) played as short, separate notes

If a noise is described as staccato, it consists of a series of short, quick sounds:

The sudden staccato burst of fireworks startled us.

(Definition of staccato from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of staccato

staccato

They recognised the staccato slicing of time, at so many frames per second, as an aggressive march of mechanisation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The staccato should be of the" hail" type.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In the first section, a high-pitched, cheerfully inexpressive chordal staccato is followed by a contrasting legato phrase tracing melodic contortions at the lower octave.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They revolve around a number of leitmotifs that lend cohesion to the staccato, surveying movement of the general discussion.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The rapid bowed quavers of the former become the rapid staccato semiquavers of the latter.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Where the latter is sustained and song-like, the former is characterised by staccato, detaché quavers vigorously arpeggiating up and down through leaps of (mainly) fifths.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Similarly, changing the numbers in the articulation list will make a legato phrase sound more staccato.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A dry percussive attack or a staccato sound (without resonance) are examples.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The staccato nature of bird song suggests that changes of breath should excite resonant modulation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Around this ground element, one hears percussive gestures, staccato sounds, patterns of repeated sounds, high vibratos or fluttering sounds, glottal stops and multiphonics.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The staccato effect of this structure arouses the reader's curiosity in its terseness and economy.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

At daybreak one morning there was a sudden burst of shouting, drumming, and the staccato of horses' hooves.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In accord with its graphic image, the desired detachment stands half-way between a mild staccato and a legato.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The writing style is staccato and seems to come from the reference being used at the time.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The lines, spoken staccato by the actors, are choppy, stilted fragments rather than smooth streams of input.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of staccato

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of staccato?