- a variant spelling of obbligato
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
ob•li•ga•to
(ob′li gä′tō),USA pronunciation adj., n., pl. -tos, -ti
-
(tē).USA pronunciation
- obbligato.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
obligato /ˌɒblɪˈɡɑːtəʊ/ adj , n
ob•bli•ga•to
(ob′li gä′tō; It. ôb′blē gä′tô),USA pronunciation adj., n., pl. -tos, -ti (-tē).USA pronunciation [Music.]
adj.
n.
adj.
- Music and Dance(used as a musical direction) obligatory or indispensable;
so important that it cannot be omitted.
n.
- Music and Dancean obbligato part or accompaniment.
- Music and Dancea continuing or persistent subordinate or background motif.
- Music and Dancea subordinate part of a solo.
- Latin obligātus; see obligate
- Italian: bound, obliged
- 1715–25
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
obbligato, obligato /ˌɒblɪˈɡɑːtəʊ/ adj
See also ad-libEtymology: 18th Century: from Italian, from obbligare to oblige
- not to be omitted in performance
- an essential part in a score: with oboe obbligato
See also ad-libEtymology: 18th Century: from Italian, from obbligare to oblige
'obligato' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):