downbeat
Use Downbeat in a sentence
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noun Music.
1.
the downward stroke of a conductor's arm or baton indicating the first or accented beat of a measure.
2.
the first beat of a measure.
adjective
3.
gloomy or depressing; pessimistic: Hollywood movies seldom have downbeat endings.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To downbeat
Collins
World English Dictionary
downbeat (ˈdaʊnˌbiːt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | music Compare upbeat the first beat of a bar or the downward gesture of a conductor's baton indicating this |
| —adj | |
| 2. | informal depressed; gloomy |
| 3. | informal relaxed; unemphatic |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Downbeat
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
downbeat
1876, in ref. to downward stroke of a conductor's baton; 1952 in fig. sense of "pessimistic," but probably just from the association of the word down, since the beat itself is no more pessimistic than the upbeat (q.v.) is optimistic.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
Suddenly the headlines were downbeat, and pundits were pontificating about the political implications of a stalled labor market.
The proceedings are all off the record, but the mood is downbeat.
But this downbeat aftermath is underplayed to prolong the misty-eyed sentimentality.
Critics may sneer, but it's impossible to do this sort of thing unless you have an almost perfect downbeat in your head.
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