Definitions for rhythm
ˈrɪð əmrhythm

Princeton's WordNet(2.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. rhythm, beat, musical rhythm(noun)

   the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music

   "the piece has a fast rhythm"; "the conductor set the beat"

2. rhythm, regular recurrence(noun)

   recurring at regular intervals

3. cycle, rhythm, round(noun)

   an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs

   "the never-ending cycle of the seasons"

4. rhythm, speech rhythm(noun)

   the arrangement of spoken words alternating stressed and unstressed elements

   "the rhythm of Frost's poetry"

5. rhythm method of birth control, rhythm method, rhythm, calendar method of birth control, calendar method(noun)

   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)

Wiktionary(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. rhythm(Noun)

   The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter.

   Dance to the rhythm of the music.

   Etymology: First coined 1557, from rhythmus, from ῥυθμός, from ῥέω.

2. rhythm(Noun)

   A specifically defined pattern of such variation

   Most dances have a rhythm as distinctive as the Iambic verse in poetry

   Etymology: First coined 1557, from rhythmus, from ῥυθμός, from ῥέω.

3. rhythm(Noun)

   A flow, repetition or regularity.

   Once you get the rhythm of it, the job will become easy.

   Etymology: First coined 1557, from rhythmus, from ῥυθμός, from ῥέω.

4. rhythm(Noun)

   The tempo or speed of a beat, song or repetetive event.

   We walked with a quick, even rhythm.

   Etymology: First coined 1557, from rhythmus, from ῥυθμός, from ῥέω.

5. rhythm(Noun)

   The musical instruments which provide rhythm (mainly; not or less melody) in a musical ensemble

   The Baroque term basso continuo is virtually equivalent to rhythm

   Etymology: First coined 1557, from rhythmus, from ῥυθμός, from ῥέω.

6. rhythm(Noun)

   A regular quantitative change in a variable (notably natural) process

   Etymology: First coined 1557, from rhythmus, from ῥυθμός, from ῥέω.

7. rhythm(Noun)

   Controlled repetition of a phrase, incident or other element as a stylistic figure in literature and other narrative arts; the effect it creates

   The running gag is a popular rhythm in motion pictures and theater comedy

   Etymology: First coined 1557, from rhythmus, from ῥυθμός, from ῥέω.

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Rhythm(noun)

   in the widest sense, a dividing into short portions by a regular succession of motions, impulses, sounds, accents, etc., producing an agreeable effect, as in music poetry, the dance, or the like

   Etymology: [F. rhythme, rythme, L. rhythmus, fr. Gr. measured motion, measure, proportion, fr. "rei^n to flow. See Stream.]

2. Rhythm(noun)

   movement in musical time, with periodical recurrence of accent; the measured beat or pulse which marks the character and expression of the music; symmetry of movement and accent

   Etymology: [F. rhythme, rythme, L. rhythmus, fr. Gr. measured motion, measure, proportion, fr. "rei^n to flow. See Stream.]

3. Rhythm(noun)

   a division of lines into short portions by a regular succession of arses and theses, or percussions and remissions of voice on words or syllables

   Etymology: [F. rhythme, rythme, L. rhythmus, fr. Gr. measured motion, measure, proportion, fr. "rei^n to flow. See Stream.]

4. Rhythm(noun)

   the harmonious flow of vocal sounds

   Etymology: [F. rhythme, rythme, L. rhythmus, fr. Gr. measured motion, measure, proportion, fr. "rei^n to flow. See Stream.]

Freebase(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Rhythm

   Rhythm generally means a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time can apply to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or frequency of anything from microseconds to millions of years. In the performance arts rhythm is the timing of events on a human scale; of musical sounds and silences, of the steps of a dance, or the meter of spoken language and poetry. Rhythm may also refer to visual presentation, as "timed movement through space." and a common language of pattern unites rhythm with geometry. In recent years, rhythm and meter have become an important area of research among music scholars. Recent work in these areas includes books by Maury Yeston, Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff, Jonathan Kramer, Christopher Hasty, Godfried Toussaint, William Rothstein, and Joel Lester.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Rhythm

   rithm, or rithm, n. flowing motion: metre: regular recurrence of accents: harmony of proportion: a measure, or foot: (mus.) the regular succession of heavy and light accents: (phys.) the succession of alternate and opposite states.—adjs. Rhyth′mic, -al, having or pertaining to rhythm or metre.—adv. Rhyth′mically.—n. Rhyth′mics, the science of rhythm.—v.t. and v.i. Rhyth′mise, to subject to rhythm: to observe rhythm.—n. Rhyth′mist, one who composes in rhythm.—adj. Rhythm′less, destitute of rhythm.—ns. Rhythmom′eter, an instrument for marking rhythms for music, a metronome; Rhythmopœ′ia, the art of composing rhythmically. [L.,—Gr. rhythmos—rhein, to flow.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. rhythm

   A regular movement, feeling or sound.

   The rhythm of the music makes us want to dance.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 17, 2020  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. rhythm

   Song lyrics by rhythm -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by rhythm on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'rhythm' in Nouns Frequency: #1785

How to pronounce rhythm?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say rhythm in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of rhythm in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of rhythm in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of rhythm in a Sentence

1. Ian Drennan:

   If you find them in a shockable heart rhythm then most of the time you can reset the heart and get a pulse back. If you wait too long, the chance of finding that rhythm deteriorates.

2. Plato, from a footnote in The Colloquy of Monos and Una, Edgar Allen Poe:

   It will be hard to discover a better [method of education] than that which the experience of so many ages has already discovered, and this may be summed up as consisting in gymnastics for the body, and _music_ for the soul... For this reason is a musical education so essential; since it causes Rhythm and Harmony to penetrate most intimately into the soul, taking the strongest hold upon it, filling it with _beauty_ and making the man _beautiful-minded_.

3. Simona Halep:

   It was a tough match as her left-handed topspin is hard to handle, i was in a little bit of trouble in the beginning because I could not find my rhythm so I am glad to finish this in two sets.

4. Limpsync:

   Music is emotion set to rhythm and tone.

5. William Barr:

   People who have lost the ability to speak can’t retrieve words or maintain a rhythm in their speech.

Images & Illustrations of rhythm

Popularity rank by frequency of use