ob•bli•ga•to
Pronunciation: (ob"li-gä'tōIt.ôb"blē-gä'tô), [key]
— adj., n., pl. -tos, -ti
—adj.
- (used as a musical direction) obligatory or indispensable; so important that it cannot be omitted.
—n.
- an obbligato part or accompaniment.
- a continuing or persistent subordinate or background motif.
- a subordinate part of a solo.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.