Definitions for rhythm
ˈrɪð əmrhythm

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 1 vote)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 / 1 vote)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.

2. rhythm(Noun)

   A specifically defined pattern of such variation

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

3. rhythm(Noun)

   A flow, repetition or regularity.

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

4. rhythm(Noun)

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

   We walked with a quick, even rhythm.

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

6. rhythm(Noun)

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

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

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

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)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

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

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

4. Rhythm(noun)

   the harmonious flow of vocal sounds

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

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)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.]

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

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. Drew Brees:

   We just had to find our rhythm.

2. Debasish Mridha, M.D.:

   Happiness will be abundant in your life when there is love, beauty, rhythm, and rhyme.

3. Sally Augustin:

   Being exposed to daylight helps keep your stress levels and your circadian rhythm in check.

4. Marloes Krijnen:

   The reason I probably like it is the rhythm of the image, the interruption by the black lines.

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