Meaning & use
solo act
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Meanings
nouncountable
A performance or activity done by one person alone, without a partner or group.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a solo act or solo acts.
Patterns
- a solo act
- perform as a solo act
- go solo
After the band broke up, she continued as a solo act.
His comedy solo act filled the small theater every night.
The duo split, and each became a solo act.
nouncountablefigurative
A person or organization that works completely alone rather than as part of a team.
Grammar: Often used figuratively in business talk; usually singular in this sense.
Patterns
- be a solo act
- work as a solo act
In this company, everyone is a solo act with no shared goals.
He prefers being a solo act and rarely asks for help.
Word forms
| plural | solo acts |
|---|
Common combinations
- perform a solo act
- She performed a solo act at the school concert.
- go solo
- After ten years together, the singer decided to go solo.
- a one-man act
- His one-man act kept the audience laughing.
- a solo performance
- The pianist gave a solo performance without an orchestra.
Synonyms and how they differ
- solo
- Shorter and more general; it can be a noun, adjective or adverb, while solo act is always a noun phrase.
- one-man show
- Similar meaning but suggests a whole show by one performer, not just a single turn.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: solo act or solo artist?
solo act vs solo artist
A solo artist records and performs under their own name; a solo act simply describes any performance done alone.
Practice
The band dissolved, so the drummer started performing as a ______.
Choose one answer.
'As a solo act' is the fixed pattern after 'as'. 'Solo acts' is plural and would not follow 'a', and 'soloing act' is not a real phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “solo act”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.