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