rubato
/rəˈbɑ.toʊ/noun
rubato is spelled R-U-B-A-T-O: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 124,184th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rubato means “A tempo in which strict timing is relaxed, the music being played near, but not on, the beat” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rubato is rubatos or rubati.
How many letters and syllables are in rubato?
| Letters | 6: R-U-B-A-T-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 124,184th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rubato?
Rubato appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 124,184th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rubato?
- US /rəˈbɑ.toʊ/
Rubato has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What rhymes with rubato?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rubato from its last stressed vowel (/ɑtoʊ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of rubato
- rubatos plural
- rubati plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rubato mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tempo in which strict timing is relaxed, the music being played near, but not on, the beat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rubato in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tempo played near, but not on, the beat:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | rubato |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rubato come from?
Borrowed from Italian rubato (“robbed, stolen”), since the time is "borrowed".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).