Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adverb Music In a very fast tempo, usually considered to be faster than allegro but slower than prestissimo. Used chiefly as a direction.
- adverb So suddenly that magic seems involved; right away.
- noun A passage or movement that is performed presto.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Quickly; immediately; in haste.
- In music, quick; in rapid tempo.
- noun In music, a passage in quick tempo.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adverb Quickly; immediately; in haste; suddenly.
- adverb (Mus.) Quickly; rapidly; -- a direction for a quick, lively movement or performance; quicker than allegro, or any rate of time except prestissimo.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb music Very fast or quickly; a directive for the musician(s) to play in a very quick
tempo . - interjection Used by
magicians when performing atrick ;ta-da ;voilà . - noun poker slang A
pair offives as a starting hand inTexas hold 'em
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb at a very fast tempo (faster than allegro)
- adjective (of tempo) very fast
- adverb suddenly
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word presto.
Examples
-
'presto' is Italian and presumably others of the 'wordish' words listed above are valid words
-
Typically, GM was able to pressure the cable monopolist Comcast into pulling the ad off the air and "presto" -- public debate is over.
-
Or, sometimes, as reported to me by several field missionaries, they report on some excellent Bible study groups they have started, and "presto" - several new churches are born and wind up being reported by their supervisors on the Annual Statistical Report.
WordPress.com News 2009
-
Obama can just clap his hands and "presto" -- election lost.
-
This job title presto changeo is just like the presto changeo of MK77, really bad if Saddam uses it, not so much if the US uses it the same way.
Think Progress » Woodward Reveals Important Clues About White House Smear Campaign 2005
-
But we discovered the internet printing service called presto dotcom.
-
Gee, let's see he was a senior corporate official of the company promoting a shuttle booster solution for the CLV and "presto"!
-
Just head up to the bar, look cute and "presto" here's $25,000 to get your academic funk on.
Mark Britton: Student Loans: Avoid the Hangover Mark Britton 2010
-
Just head up to the bar, look cute and "presto" here's $25,000 to get your academic funk on.
Mark Britton: Student Loans: Avoid the Hangover Mark Britton 2010
-
Getting clear, at length, of this crowd of feminines, "presto" was the word, and away we bowled along one of the most beautiful roads I have ever seen.
Kathay: A Cruise in the China Seas W. Hastings Macaulay
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.