downbeat

English

Etymology 1

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