English Explanatory Dictionary

downbeat

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The accented beat at the beginning of a bar (indicated by a conductor with a downward stroke).
adj
  1. Sad or pessimistic.
  2. Cautiously optimistic.

Pronunciation

/ˈdaʊnbiːt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downbeat.wav /daʊnˈbiːt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downbeat2.wav

Word forms

downbeat downbeats more downbeat most downbeat

Etymology

From down + beat.

Antonyms

upbeat

Related words

afterbeat offbeat backbeat
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on D Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary