a tem·po (ä t?m?p?)adv. & adj. Music In the tempo originally designated; resuming the initial tempo of a section or movement after a specified deviation from it. Used chiefly as a direction.[Italian : a, in + tempo, time.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.a tempo (?? ?t?mp??) musicadj, adv (Classical Music) to the original tempon (Classical Music) a passage thus marked Also: tempo primo [Italian: in (the original) time]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014a tem?po (? ?t?m po?) adv. Music. resuming the original speed. [1730?40;