Plural of tempo
regular plural
The plural of tempo is tempos or tempi.
Forms of tempo
| Singular | tempo /ˈtɛm.pəʊ/ |
|---|---|
| Plural | tempos /ˈtɛmpəʊz/ tempi /ˈtɛmpiː/ |
| Countable | countable |
Plural of tempo by meaning
- a frequency or rate.: tempos or tempi
- a temporary carport.: tempos
Tempos and tempi in a sentence
- Which are played at such high tempos yet are so precise at the same time.2025 August 8, Traumawillalwayslinger, “Ascension… Abhorrence”, in The Metal Archives, archived from the original on 01 Sep 2026…. From the entry blasturbation
- The pawn isn't worth the tempos that you spend moving your piece(s) away from the action.2012, Joel Johnson, Formation Attack Strategies, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 123. From the entry pawn grabbing
- Tempos are too rushed for effect, and the interpretation is downright delicate - totally inappropriate.1988, Peter Hugh Reed, American record guide: Volume 51. From the entry hooty
- Oi! is characterized by cleaner guitars and slower tempos than most punk music, and many Oi! songs feature sing-along, "soccer chant" choruses.2012, Tiffini Travis, Perry Hardy, Skinheads: A Guide to an American Subculture. From the entry oi
- His son, Denardo Coleman, played drums with hard insistency, even bombast (at bright tempos, his ride-cymbal patterns were rivetlike), but he also kept closely attuned to the flow of improvisation.2008 March 31, Nate Chinen, “Clear-Cut Case of the Blues, in a Bebop Mode”, in New York Times. From the entry insistency
Meaning of tempo
- noun A frequency or rate.
- noun A move which is part of one's own plan or strategy and forces, e.g. by means of a check or attacking a piece, the opponent to make a move which is not bad but of no use (the player gains a tempo, the opponent loses a tempo), or equivalently a player achieves the same result in fewer moves by one approach rather than another.
- noun The timing advantage of being on lead, thus being first to initiate a strategy to develop tricks for one's side.
Questions about the plural of tempo
- What is the plural of tempo?
- The plural of tempo is tempos or tempi.
- Which is correct, tempos or tempi?
- Both are used. tempos is the more common of the two in English writing.
- Is tempo countable?
- Tempo is a countable noun.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: tempo (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Plural of tempo.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/plural/tempo. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.