Meaning & use
rhythm
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablemusic
A repeating pattern of strong and weak beats in music, poetry or speech.
Grammar: Both forms occur: a steady rhythm, or a feel for rhythm.
Patterns
- the rhythm of something
- keep rhythm
The drummer kept a steady rhythm throughout the song.
She tapped her foot to the rhythm of the music.
The poem has a gentle rhythm that makes it easy to remember.
nouncountable
A regular pattern of movement, activity or events that repeats over time.
Grammar: Often followed by 'of': the rhythm of the seasons.
Patterns
- the rhythm of something
- settle into a rhythm
Farm life follows the rhythm of the seasons.
After a few weeks I settled into the rhythm of my new job.
The body has a natural daily rhythm of sleep and waking.
nouncountablemedical
The regular beat of the heart or other body function.
Grammar: Medical use, often with 'heart': an irregular heart rhythm.
Patterns
- heart rhythm
The doctor checked her heart rhythm with a small monitor.
An abnormal rhythm can be treated with medicine.
The machine records the rhythm of the patient's pulse.
Word forms
| plural | rhythms |
|---|
Common combinations
- steady rhythm
- The rowers worked in a steady rhythm.
- natural rhythm
- Her speech had a natural rhythm that held the audience.
- find your rhythm
- The team found its rhythm in the second half.
- rhythm section
- The rhythm section of the band includes drums and bass.
- lose your rhythm
- He lost his rhythm and missed the next step.
- circadian rhythm
- Bright light can reset your circadian rhythm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- beat
- Beat is a single pulse or the basic pulse of music, whereas rhythm is the pattern formed by many beats.
- tempo
- Tempo only describes speed, while rhythm describes the pattern of the beats.
- cadence
- Cadence is more literary and refers to a fall of the voice or measured flow of language.
- pattern
- Pattern is a general word for anything repeated, and it need not involve time or sound.
Opposites
Word family
- rhythmic adjective
- having a clear repeated pattern
- rhythmical adjective
- another form of rhythmic, slightly more formal
- rhythmically adverb
- in a regular pattern
- arrhythmia noun
- an irregular heartbeat
Commonly confused: rhythm or rhyme?
rhythm vs rhyme
Rhyme is the matching of sounds at the ends of words, while rhythm is the pattern of beats; a poem can have rhythm without rhyme.
Practice
Which word describes the pattern of strong and weak beats in a song?
Choose one answer.
Rhythm is the pattern of beats. Melody is the tune, and rhyme is the matching of sounds at the ends of lines.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rhythm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.