presto
1 of 3interjection
pres·to ˈpre-(ˌ)stō 
—used to indicate the sudden appearance or occurrence of something often as if by magic
presto
2 of 3adverb or adjective
1
: suddenly as if by magic : immediately
2
: at a rapid tempo —used as a direction in music
presto
3 of 3noun
plural prestos
: a presto musical passage or movement
Synonyms
Adverb or adjective
- apace
- briskly
- chop-chop
- double-quick
- fast
- fleetly
- full tilt
- hastily
- hell-for-leather
- hot
- lickety-split
- posthaste
- pronto
- quick
- quickly
- rapidly
- snappily
- soon
- speedily
- swift
- swiftly
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 29 May 2020 And, — presto! change-o! — Kiner-Falefa winds up as the third baseman. Dallas News, 9 Mar. 2020 Simply flash a smile at a little camera and—presto—you're in. Robert Hackett, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2019 Step 4: Return to the room that is, presto change-o, now a hall sufficiently decked with all of the festive Christmas decor. Ashley Hoffman, Time, 21 Nov. 2019 Two patties are way too much for me, but a server recently revealed a valuable secret: Order a cheeseburger with lettuce and special sauce, and — presto! — a single version of the hour-wait-worthy burger. Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 24 Oct. 2019 To the uninitiated, this process may appear a bit like magic—a wave of the hands, a tap of a touch screen and, presto, a rabbit is pulled from a quantum hat. Neil Savage, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2019 Someone gets infected, someone gets bitten and presto! Chuck Yarborough, cleveland, 17 Oct. 2019 Just pop a K-Cup in, add some water, press the button and presto, coffee! Alicia Kortendick, oregonlive, 25 Sep. 2019 Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 31 May 2022 Attach a retractable net to your dining room table, and presto: table tennis! Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2020 Courtly grace rubbed elbows with earthy peasant humor, and the concluding presto was alive with the ebullience Haydn dished out like no other composer. John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, 2 June 2017 See More
Adverb or adjective
In second gear, his singing V-8 seems to jump tempo, allegro to presto. Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 29 May 2020 And, — presto! change-o! — Kiner-Falefa winds up as the third baseman. Dallas News, 9 Mar. 2020 Simply flash a smile at a little camera and—presto—you're in. Robert Hackett, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2019 Step 4: Return to the room that is, presto change-o, now a hall sufficiently decked with all of the festive Christmas decor. Ashley Hoffman, Time, 21 Nov. 2019 Two patties are way too much for me, but a server recently revealed a valuable secret: Order a cheeseburger with lettuce and special sauce, and — presto! — a single version of the hour-wait-worthy burger. Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 24 Oct. 2019 To the uninitiated, this process may appear a bit like magic—a wave of the hands, a tap of a touch screen and, presto, a rabbit is pulled from a quantum hat. Neil Savage, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2019 Someone gets infected, someone gets bitten and presto! Chuck Yarborough, cleveland, 17 Oct. 2019 Just pop a K-Cup in, add some water, press the button and presto, coffee! Alicia Kortendick, oregonlive, 25 Sep. 2019 Noun
In 1978, Eddie Van Halen completely rewired the schematics of presto guitaring. Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 31 May 2022 Attach a retractable net to your dining room table, and presto: table tennis! Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2020 Courtly grace rubbed elbows with earthy peasant humor, and the concluding presto was alive with the ebullience Haydn dished out like no other composer. John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, 2 June 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
Interjection
Italian, quick, quickly, from Latin praestus ready, from praesto adverb, on hand; akin to Latin prae before — more at for
First Known Use
Interjection
circa 1599, in the meaning defined above
Adverb Or Adjective
1644, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
1801, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing presto
Kids Definition
presto
adverb or adjective
pres·to ˈpre-stō
: suddenly as if by magic
You called and presto, we're here.
presto
adverb
as in quickly
with great speed the hungry men dived into the food and, presto, it was gone Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- quickly
- quick
- fast
- rapidly
- swiftly
- soon
- hot
- immediately
- promptly
- pronto
- swift
- hastily
- at full tilt
- like gangbusters
- speedily
- like wildfire
- posthaste
- at full throttle
- apace
- briskly
- lickety-split
- fleetly
- in short order
- chop-chop
- full tilt
- like a shot
- in a hurry
- double-quick
- by leaps and bounds
- a mile a minute
- hell-for-leather
- abruptly
- suddenly
- readily
- snappily
- impetuously
- impulsively
- vigorously
- rashly
- recklessly
- energetically
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- slowly
- slow
- belatedly
- sluggishly
- deliberately
- leisurely
- tardily
- laggardly
- ploddingly
- lingeringly
- delinquently