Definition of RHYTHM

rhythm

Plural: rhythms

Noun

  • A strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound.
  • the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music
    • "the piece has a fast rhythm"
  • recurring at regular intervals
  • an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs
  • the arrangement of spoken words alternating stressed and unstressed elements
    • "the rhythm of Frost's poetry"
  • 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)
  • The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter.
  • A specifically defined pattern of such variation.
  • A flow, repetition or regularity.
  • The tempo or speed of a beat, song or repetitive event.
  • The musical instruments which provide rhythm (mainly; not or less melody) in a musical ensemble.
  • A regular quantitative change in a variable (notably natural) process.
  • Controlled repetition of a phrase, incident or other element as a stylistic figure in literature and other narrative arts; the effect it creates.
  • A person's natural feeling for rhythm.

Verb

  • To impart a (particular) rhythm to.

Examples

  • Dance to the rhythm of the music.
  • Most dances have a rhythm as distinctive as the Iambic verse in poetry
  • Once you get the rhythm of it, the job will become easy.
  • She maintained a steady rhythm of high-scoring plays throughout the Words With Friends game.
  • That girl's got rhythm, watch her dance!
  • The Baroque term basso continuo is virtually equivalent to rhythm
  • The rhythm of the seasons dominates agriculture as well as wildlife
  • The running gag is a popular rhythm in motion pictures and theater comedy
  • We walked with a quick, even rhythm.

Origin / Etymology

First coined in 1557, from Latin rhythmus, from Ancient Greek ῥυθμός (rhuthmós, “any measured flow or movement, symmetry, rhythm”), from ῥέω (rhéō, “I flow, run, stream, gush”).

Synonyms

beat, calendar method, calendar method of birth control, cycle, musical rhythm, regular recurrence, rhythm method, rhythm method of birth control, round, speech rhythm, meter, metre, prosody, rhythm section

Scrabble Score: 17

rhythm: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
rhythm: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
rhythm: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

rhythm: valid Words With Friends Word