solo
solo — adjective
1. done or experienced by one person without anyone else being present, helping, or
done or experienced by one person without anyone else being present, helping, or sharing the activity.
Romi decided to start a solo career after spending ten years in a band.
collocation: solo career
The solo traveler booked a room in a quiet guesthouse near the coast.
Élise prefers solo hiking trips because they let her set her own pace.
collocation: solo hiking / solo trip
Karim gave a solo presentation to the board without any rehearsal.
collocation: solo presentation
Living alone for the first time felt like a quiet solo adventure.
- solo career
- solo trip
- solo traveler
- solo performance
- solo artist
- solo parent
- solo hike
- alone
predicative only — 'she is alone' but not 'an alone traveler'; solo works attributively
- solitary
more literary; suggests long-term isolation rather than a chosen independent activity
- unaccompanied
formal; used especially for travel or music, implying no companion or escort
- group
as in group activity or group trip
- accompanied
formal antonym; used especially for travel or performances
Usage Note
Common in compound nouns such as solo artist, solo traveler, and solo parent — all describing someone who does something alone that is usually done with others.
Common Mistakes
2. written or intended for a single musician or singer to play or sing, with the re
written or intended for a single musician or singer to play or sing, with the rest of the group staying in the background.
Michael learned a solo piece by Bach for the spring recital.
collocation: solo piece
The choir director asked for a solo voice to sing the opening line.
Yumi practiced the solo passage in the violin concerto every evening.
collocation: solo passage
The cellist prepared a solo sonata for her audition at the conservatory.
collocation: solo sonata
- solo piece
- solo passage
- solo sonata
- solo voice
- solo section
- solo part
- unaccompanied
specifies no instrumental accompaniment at all, whereas solo may allow background support
- recital
only as noun — a recital is a whole concert of solo pieces
Common Mistakes
3. in baseball, describing a home run that scores exactly one run because no other
in baseball, describing a home run that scores exactly one run because no other batter is on base when the ball is hit.
Christopher hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning.
collocation: solo home run
The pitcher gave up a solo shot in the seventh, but his team stayed ahead.
informal: solo shot = solo home run
Three solo homers in one game is unusual even for a power hitter.
informal: solo homer = solo home run
With two outs and nobody on base, the batter crushed a solo homer into left field.
- solo home run
- solo homer
- solo shot
- solo homer
shortened, informal form
- solo shot
informal baseball jargon
Usage Note
The noun home run is often dropped in informal baseball writing: 'He hit a solo in the fifth.'
solo — noun
1. a piece of music or a section within a larger work that is performed by a single
a piece of music or a section within a larger work that is performed by a single singer or instrumentalist, whether with or without background accompaniment.
Sana performed a piano solo at the school concert last Friday.
collocation: piano solo
The trumpet solo in the jazz piece brought the crowd to their feet.
After the duet, Faisal played a short solo on the oud.
Mayumi practiced the violin solo until her fingers were sore.
collocation: violin solo
Each band member took a solo during the final song of the night.
pattern: take a solo
- piano solo
- violin solo
- guitar solo
- drum solo
- vocal solo
- take a solo
- play a solo
Usage Note
The noun is often modified by the instrument name: guitar solo, drum solo, vocal solo. In popular music, a solo usually involves improvisation.
Common Mistakes
2. an action, flight, or performance carried out by one person without help, partne
an action, flight, or performance carried out by one person without help, partners, or supervision — especially a student pilot's first unaided flight.
After twenty lessons with the instructor, Karim finally completed his first solo.
pattern: first solo (student pilot)
The mountaineer attempted a solo of the north face without a support team.
pattern: a solo of [mountain/route]
Christopher's solo as a trainee pilot lasted only forty-five minutes but felt like hours.
Nia announced her intention to attempt a solo across the Atlantic in a small sailboat.
- first solo
- complete a solo
- attempt a solo
- a solo across
- solo flight
- unaided effort
emphasises doing something without equipment or support, not just without people
- team effort
an activity requiring multiple people
- group outing
casual; an activity done together socially rather than alone
Usage Note
Frequently used in aviation ('my first solo') and mountaineering ('a solo of Everest') where the activity normally involves a team or instructor.
solo — verb
1. to perform a solo section of music while the rest of the band, orchestra, or rhy
to perform a solo section of music while the rest of the band, orchestra, or rhythm section plays behind you.
Nia soloed on the saxophone during the middle section of the jazz piece.
pattern: solo on [instrument]
The bassist rarely solos at live shows, but when she does, the crowd goes quiet.
Yumi soloed brilliantly on the koto during the festival concert in Kyoto.
When the drummer soloed, the guitarist and bassist stopped playing and watched.
- solo on
- solo over
- solo during
- improvise
not all solos are improvised, but in jazz and rock the two terms often overlap
- take a solo
periphrastic verb phrase; 'take a solo' is more common in conversational English
Grammar Patterns
solo + on + instrument
Usage Note
Commonly followed by on + instrument ('soloed on the trumpet') or left unspecified when the instrument is obvious from context.
2. to do something demanding alone or without the help that is normally expected —
to do something demanding alone or without the help that is normally expected — especially flying an aircraft without an instructor or climbing without a team.
Eli soloed across the Atlantic in a small sailboat at the age of twenty-two.
After months of training, Trang soloed the mountain via the north-east ridge.
transitive use: soloed the mountain
The young pilot soloed for the first time on a clear Tuesday morning.
intransitive use: soloed (aviation)
Dahlia soloed the entire hike along the rugged coastal trail without a guide.
- solo across
- solo for the first time
- solo the mountain
- go it alone
idiomatic; broader — can apply to business or life, not just physical challenges
- team up
to join others to accomplish a task together
Grammar Patterns
solo (intransitive)
solo + noun phrase (transitive: fly a plane, climb a mountain)
Usage Note
As a transitive verb ('soloed the mountain') the object is the challenge itself (mountain, route, ocean). As an intransitive verb ('soloed for the first time') it most often refers to a student pilot's first unaided flight.
Common Mistakes
solo — adverb
1. in a way that involves doing something alone, without anyone else present or off
in a way that involves doing something alone, without anyone else present or offering help.
After three sessions with the instructor, Mayumi flew solo for the first time.
collocation: fly solo
The artist prefers to work solo, without any assistants in the studio.
Christopher traveled solo across Southeast Asia for six months after university.
collocation: travel solo
Kasia decided to go solo and start her own design company.
collocation: go solo
The old fisherman had spent most of his life working solo on the open ocean.
- fly solo
- travel solo
- go solo
- work solo
- live solo
- alone
similar meaning but placed after the verb; 'travel alone' vs 'travel solo' — solo sounds more intentional and positive
- independently
formal; emphasises the freedom of action rather than the absence of others
Usage Note
Go solo is a very common fixed expression used both literally (travel alone) and figuratively (start a business independently).
Common Mistakes
2. in a musical performance, singing or playing without any other voices or instrum
in a musical performance, singing or playing without any other voices or instruments accompanying you.
The choir sang the final verse solo, without the organ playing behind them.
For the bridge of the song, the bassoon played solo over a quiet string section.
The soprano sang solo during the most dramatic moment of the opera.
pattern: sing solo
After the orchestra fell silent, Asher continued to play solo for eight bars.
pattern: play solo
- sing solo
- play solo
- perform solo
- unaccompanied
more formal; common in classical music scores and programme notes
- with accompaniment
with other instruments or voices providing support
Usage Note
When used in musical contexts, solo as an adverb is positioned after the main verb: sing solo, play solo, perform solo. Distinguish from the adjective use (a solo passage) where the word comes before the noun.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- soloistnounB2
- soloingverbC1
- soloedverbC1
- soloisticadjectiveC2
Synonym discussion
Sense: adjective/1
Solo, alone, solitary, and unaccompanied all describe being without others, but differ in grammar and connotation. Alone is predicative only — you cannot say 'an alone traveler' (use 'solo traveler' instead). Solitary carries a more literary, sometimes melancholy tone, suggesting isolation ('a solitary figure on the beach') rather than a chosen independent activity. Unaccompanied is formal and often used for regulated contexts ('unaccompanied minors on flights') or musical performance ('unaccompanied violin'). Solo is the most positive and versatile of the four — it works before nouns ('solo artist', 'solo trip'), after verbs ('fly solo', 'travel solo'), and always implies a voluntary, often admirable independence. Use solo when you want to emphasise the active choice of doing something alone, not the mere absence of others.
Common collocations
Nouns
- solo album
- solo artist
- solo flight
- solo project
- solo career
- solo performance
- solo trip
- solo exhibition
Adverbs
- completely solo
- entirely solo
- mostly solo
Phrases
- go solo
- fly solo
- work solo
- travel solo
- perform solo
Prepositions
- solo in
- solo on
- solo across
- solo for
Etymology
The word solo entered English in the late 1600s from Italian, where it meant 'alone' — a direct borrowing of the Italian adjective and noun. Italian solo traces back to Latin sōlus, meaning 'alone, only, single.' The musical sense (a piece for one performer) was the first to appear in English, followed later by the general sense of doing anything without help. By the early 1900s, solo was also being used as a verb in aviation contexts (a student pilot's first unaided flight).