Definition

1. Noun:
   • A strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound: This is the most common meaning, referring to the patterned recurrence of beats, sounds, or movements over time.
   • The systematic arrangement of musical sounds, principally according to duration and periodic stress: In music, "rhythm" specifically refers to the pattern of notes and rests in time, creating the beat and tempo of a piece.
   • A particular pattern formed by such movement or sound: It can refer to a specific, identifiable rhythmic pattern.
   • The measured flow of words and phrases in verse or prose as determined by the relation of long and short or stressed and unstressed syllables: In language and poetry, "rhythm" is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that creates a flow.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The drummer kept a steady rhythm for the band.
  • She moved to the rhythm of the music.
  • The poem has a beautiful, flowing rhythm.
  • The rhythm of the seasons influences animal behavior.

Advanced Usage

• "In rhythm": Moving or performing in time with a steady beat.
  • The dancers were perfectly in rhythm with each other.
• "Sense of rhythm": The innate or learned ability to perceive and move in time with a beat.
  • He has no sense of rhythm and can't dance.
• "Rhythm and blues (R&B)": A genre of popular music that combines elements of blues, jazz, and gospel, characterized by a strong backbeat.
  • She loves listening to classic rhythm and blues.

Variants and Related Words

• Rhythmic (adj): Having or relating to rhythm; occurring with a regular, repeated pattern.
  • The rhythmic sound of the waves was soothing.
• Rhythmically (adv): In a rhythmic manner.
  • She nodded rhythmically to the music.
• Rhythm section (n): The part of a band providing the underlying rhythm, typically consisting of drums, bass, and sometimes piano or guitar.
  • The band's rhythm section is very tight.

Synonyms

• Beat: The basic unit of time in music; a regular, repeating pulse.
• Cadence: The rise and fall of the voice, especially in speech; a rhythmic sequence or flow.
• Tempo: The speed at which a passage of music is played.
• Meter: The rhythmic structure of a verse or piece of music, defined by patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables or beats.

Related Phrases

• Rhythm method (n): A natural method of birth control that involves tracking a woman's menstrual cycle to predict fertile days.
  • They use the rhythm method for family planning.
• Circadian rhythm (n): The physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism's environment.
  • Jet lag disrupts your circadian rhythm.

Idioms

• To the rhythm of: In time with or influenced by something.
  • The city pulses to the rhythm of commerce.
• Break the rhythm: To interrupt a regular pattern or flow.
  • A sudden phone call broke the rhythm of his work.

Noun

1. natural family planning in which ovulation is assumed to occur 14 days before the onset of a period (the fertile period would be assumed to extend from day 10 through day 18 of her cycle)
2. the arrangement of spoken words alternating stressed and unstressed elements
   • the rhythm of Frost's poetry
3. an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs
   • the never-ending cycle of the seasons
4. recurring at regular intervals
5. the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music
   • the piece has a fast rhythm
   • the conductor set the beat