Definitions for rhythm
ˈrɪð əmrhythm

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

1. rhythm, beat, musical rhythmnoun

   the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music

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

2. rhythm, regular recurrencenoun

   recurring at regular intervals

3. cycle, rhythm, roundnoun

   an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs

   "the never-ending cycle of the seasons"

4. rhythm, speech rhythmnoun

   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 methodnoun

   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. rhythmnoun

   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. rhythmnoun

   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. rhythmnoun

   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. rhythmnoun

   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. rhythmnoun

   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. rhythmnoun

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

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

7. rhythmnoun

   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. Rhythmnoun

   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. Rhythmnoun

   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. Rhythmnoun

   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. Rhythmnoun

   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(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. rhythm

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

Matched Categories

1. • Musical Time
   • Natural Family Planning
   • Prosody
   • Template

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

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

How to pronounce rhythm?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

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. Elina Svitolina:

   I didn't know much about Mihaela Buzarnescu because Mihaela Buzarnescu raised really quickly, i watched little bit video of Mihaela Buzarnescu playing, so I knew a little bit what to expect. But today I was off and couldn't find my rhythm, my game today, and was really struggling.

2. Josh Jackson:

   We just couldn’t find a rhythm. Their guys were making shots, we just didn’t have the energy and intensity that we normally have. I’m confident that we’ll find it.

3. Patrick Pouyanne:

   At this rhythm, there could be a shortfall of supply and a counter shock. There could be a shortfall of about 5 million barrels in that horizon, which is a lot. All of this because volatility has been extreme.

4. American Gerina Piller:

   This is kind of like golfing in a bubble, i mean, it's perfect weather, great golf course, perfect conditions. You can definitely get in a rhythm out there.

5. Derrick Rose:

   We are still fighting, still trying to find our rhythm, (We need to) be mentally strong. Even though we are going through a rough time, (we need to) stay together and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Images & Illustrations of rhythm

Popularity rank by frequency of use