entr'acte

[ ahn-trakt, ahn-trakt; French ahn-trakt ]

noun

, plural en·tr'actes [ahn-, trakts, ahn, -trakts, ah, n, -, trakt].

1. the interval between two consecutive acts of a theatrical or operatic performance.
2. a performance, as of music or dancing, given during such an interval.
3. a piece of music or the like for such performance.

entr'acte

/ ɒnˈtrækt; ɑ̃trakt /

noun

1. an interval between two acts of a play or opera
2. (esp formerly) an entertainment during an interval, such as dancing between acts of an opera

Word History and Origins

Origin of entr'acte¹

First recorded in 1740–50; from French, equivalent to entre “between” (from Latin inter ) + acte “one of the main divisions of a play or opera”; act

Word History and Origins

Origin of entr'acte¹

C19: French, literally: between-act

Example Sentences

It is written in five "acts," with entr'actes that often bring in briefly-mentioned side characters and expand upon them.

From Salon

It resembles the entr'actes he called knee plays in his first great international success, the 1976 opera "Einstein on the Beach," which he created with composer Philip Glass.

From Los Angeles Times

It could be heard as the missing entr'acte connecting the distant worlds between the current Los Angeles Opera double bill of Purcell's opera and Bartók's "Bluebeard's Castle."

From Los Angeles Times

The film breaks for an intermission and grandiose entr'acte music.

From The Guardian

But the philosopher persists in such a sorrowful sentence as: "In the tragedy of man peace is but an entr'acte."

From Project Gutenberg