soloist

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,939 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: soloists

A soloist is a performer who dances alone. The principal soloist, promoted to soloist, a guest soloist.

In a ballet company it is a rank as well as a description — corps de ballet, soloist, principal — so being made one is a promotion. In music the soloist is the featured player in front of the orchestra. Note solo plus the -ist that names a doer.

Definitions of soloist

1nounsoloistA performer who appears alone.B2+
“The young soloist stepped forward, and the orchestra fell quiet as she began to play.”

soloist is a performer.

Where it comes from

Latin
sōlus
Italian
solo
English
solo
English, today
soloist

Built from

se · Latin — himself

From solo + -ist. solo Italian solo, from Latin sōlus, probably related to se (“himself”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Music, Art & Culture, News & Communication, Dance

Practise this word

soloist in the wild

Performing a solo is "to solo", and the performer is known as a soloist.
Solo (music)
Free soloing is the most dangerous form of climbing, and, unlike bouldering, free soloists climb at heights where any fall can be fatal.
Free solo climbing
Much like Villella, Lopez was a soloist and principal dancer at NYCB.
Miami City Ballet
In ballet, a soloist is a rank or position in a ballet company.
Soloist (ballet)
Demi-soloist can have one of two meanings in the ballet.
Demi-soloist

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the solo family

solo

soloist — used about once every 16,706 pages · #12,939 · point at the bar for the others

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