Meanings
nounrubato (countable and uncountable, plural rubatos or rubati)
plural rubatos · plural rubati
- countableuncountableentertainmentA tempo in which strict timing is relaxed, the music being played near, but not on, the beat.
The etudes with metronome markings should be played in tempo, all others should be considered rubato.
2007, Michele Weir, Jazz Piano Handbook, Alfred Music Publishing, →ISBN, page 110Synonyms: tempo rubato
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA tempo in which strict timing is relaxed, the music being played near, but not on, the beat.
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Also see
Origin
- Italianrubato“robbed, stolen”
- Englishrubato
Borrowed from Italian rubato (“robbed, stolen”), since the time is "borrowed".
More words from Italian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 伸缩速度, 散板
- 伸缩速度 (tán xìng sù dù)tempo played near, but not on, the beat
- 散板 (sǎn bǎn)tempo played near, but not on, the beat
Italian rubato
- rubatotempo played near, but not on, the beat
Portuguese rubato
- rubatotempo played near, but not on, the beat
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
rubato. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubato
MLA
“rubato.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubato. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rubato,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubato.
Source: rubato on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.