Word.ws English Dictionary

a cappella

UK/ˌæ.kəˈpɛl.ə//ˌɑ kəˈpɛl.ə/

a cappella noun: a vocal performance with no instrumental accompaniment.

Noun

a cappella (plural a cappellas)

  1. A vocal performance with no instrumental accompaniment.

Adverb

a cappella (not comparable)

  1. In the manner of a choir with no instrumental accompaniment.
    • Groups of teens singing a cappella on street corners got recording contracts.
  2. (obsolete) In alla breve time.

Adjective

a cappella (not comparable)

  1. Singing solely or mainly without instrumental accompaniment.
    • An a cappella group sang during the wedding reception.
  2. (US) Related to a form of purely vocal music mostly associated with American college performance groups.
    • Socially, a cappella groups tend to be tight-knit ensembles in which close interpersonal relationships are formed.2012, Joshua S. Duchan, Powerful Voices, page 2
  3. (obsolete) alla breve.

a cappella meaning in Tamil, Tagalog, Arabic and Persian

a cappella in Tamil

பக்க வாத்தியமில்லாமல், பின்னணி இசை யில்லாமல், வாத்திய உதவியில்லாமல்

a cappella in Tagalog

performed by a choir with no instrumental accompaniment
sayil

a cappella in Arabic

performed by a choir with no instrumental accompaniment
أَكَابِيلَّا ʔakābīllā

a cappella in Persian

performed by a choir with no instrumental accompaniment
بیساز bi-sâz

Forms of a cappella

plurala cappellas
alternative misspellinga capella
alternative misspellingacapella
alternative adjective nouna-cappella

Origin of a cappella

Borrowed from Italian a cappella (“in the manner of the [Sistine] chapel”), referring to non-instrumental choirs.

Words formed from a cappella

Words that rhyme with a cappella

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about a cappella

What does a cappella mean?
A cappella means a vocal performance with no instrumental accompaniment.
What is a cappella in Tamil?
A cappella in Tamil is பக்க வாத்தியமில்லாமல், பின்னணி இசை யில்லாமல், வாத்திய உதவியில்லாமல். See A cappella meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is a cappella?
A cappella can be a noun, an adverb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce a cappella?
A cappella is pronounced /ˌæ.kəˈpɛl.ə/ (UK).
What is the plural of a cappella?
The plural of a cappella is a cappellas.

Words near a cappella in the dictionary

  1. a calorie is a calorie is a calorie
  2. a camel is a horse designed by a committee
  3. a camel is a horse made by a committee
  4. a camel is a horse made by committee
  5. a capella
  6. a cappella
  7. a cappellas
  8. a capriccio
  9. a cat can look at a king
  10. a cat in gloves catches no mice
  11. a cat may look at a king

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: a cappella (page history and authors); a cappella (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-a cappella.ogg.

Cite this entry: “a cappella.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/a_cappella. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.