downbeat

English

Etymology 1

From down +‎ beat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊnbiːt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

downbeat (plural downbeats)

1. (music) The accented beat at the beginning of a bar (indicated by a conductor with a downward stroke).

Related terms

• afterbeat, offbeat, backbeat

Translations

accented beat

• Esperanto: ĉefpulso
• Finnish: alaslyönti
• French: temps fort (fr)
• Greek: θέση (el) m (thési)
• Polish: akcentowana miara taktu f
• Welsh: curiad i lawr

Etymology 2

Earlier downbeaten, from the phrasal verb beat down

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /daʊnˈbiːt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

downbeat (comparative more downbeat, superlative most downbeat)

1. Sad or pessimistic.

   He sounded downbeat when asked about his future plans.

2. Cautiously optimistic.

   She carried herself with a quiet downbeat grace.

Antonyms

• upbeat

Translations

sad

• Bulgarian: мрачен (bg) (mračen), песимистичен (bg) (pesimističen)
• Dutch: droef (nl), pessimistisch (nl)
• Finnish: synkkä (fi), pessimistinen (fi)
• French: triste (fr), pessimiste (fr)
• German: pessimistisch (de)
• Turkish: karamsar (tr), kötümser (tr)

Anagrams

• beat down, beatdown