downbeat

English

Etymology 1

down +‎ beat

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊnbiːt/
Audio (Southern England) (file)

Noun

downbeat (plural downbeats)

(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)

Sad or pessimistic.
He sounded downbeat when asked about his future plans.
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

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