(obsolete, music) In alla breve time.
oh i thought it was fun. a lot of a cappella groups have some play on treble/trouble
The [madrigal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrigal_(music) "Madrigal (music)"), up until its development in the early [Baroque](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_music "Baroque music") into an instrumentally ac…
(obsolete, music) In alla breve time.
Groups of teens singing a cappella on street corners got recording contracts.
“oh i thought it was fun. a lot of a cappella groups have some play on treble/trouble”
Add your own interpretation of "a cappella".
The vocabulary of software engineers, AI researchers, and anyone living in a terminal or on GitHub — from LLM to MCP, CORS to vibe coding, agentic to enshittification.
See all Tech, Dev & AI slang on Slangora.
Browse all slang words starting with A.
In the context of collegiate a cappella, the term _a cappella_ typically also refers to the [music genre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_genre "Music genre") performed by [pop-centric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wi…
“The [madrigal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrigal_(music) "Madrigal (music)"), up until its development in the early [Baroque](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_music "Baroque music") into an instrumentally accompanied form, was also usually performed a cappella.”
“In the context of collegiate a cappella, the term _a cappella_ typically also refers to the [music genre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_genre "Music genre") performed by [pop-centric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music "Pop music") student singing groups.”
No comments yet — say something.
(music) A vocal performance with no instrumental accompaniment.
"a cappella" means a vocal performance with no instrumental accompaniment. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"a cappella" is informal English meaning a vocal performance with no instrumental accompaniment. It is used widely across English varieties. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "a vocal performance with no instrumental accompaniment" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "a cappella" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.
No comments yet — say something.
(music) In the manner of a choir with no instrumental accompaniment.
Groups of teens singing a cappella on street corners got recording contracts.
No comments yet — say something.