metronome
Americannoun
-
metronomes
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of metronome
1810–20; metro- 1 + -nome < Greek nómos rule, law
Explanation
Remember that little pyramid-shaped machine with the pendulum that clicked so agonizingly during your early piano lessons? Well, that was a metronome, a device that helps musicians keep to the tempo of the music. The metronome was invented in 1815 by a German engineer called Johann Maelzel, who was good friends with Beethoven. They even performed together, with Maelzel giving demonstrations of his device in the intervals. The metronome has come in for some criticism, but if it was good enough for Beethoven, it's probably good enough for you. The name comes from the Greek words metron for "measure," and nomus for "regulating."
Vocabulary lists containing metronome
Music - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Nine
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Music - Middle School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And most importantly, the machine is like a metronome, keeping him steady and curbing his impulse to go overboard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Trade the metronome as it swings back and forth, but don’t let the hypnotic sound lull you into complacency.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
The half-crazed King, magnificently sung by the ever-disruptive Timur, lusts after Salome by speaking and singing at different speeds he selects on a metronome, as he entices her to type for him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
"We're now starting to understand how the uterus acts as both a muscle and a metronome to ensure that labor follows the body's own rhythm."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 13, 2026
He swung his right arm upward to shake Harry’s hand, but at the last moment seemed unable to face it, and merely closed his fist and began swinging it backward and forward like a metronome.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
The night sky contains remarkably precise "cosmic clocks": pulsars, which are dense neutron stars that emit radio pulses at steady intervals, ticking like perfectly timed metronomes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2025
The musicians can practice their melodies and train their lung capacities inside, often to the insistent clacking of metronomes.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2023
These structures from quantum impracticality, inherent crystalline metronomes might migrate into our future time-keeping technology.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 4, 2023
Dancers swirl, the artist repeatedly climbs over chairs like a man going nowhere and a group of Man Ray-style metronomes slowly goes out of synchronization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2022
In coffins for the not dead and not alive, in planked boxes, the metronomes waited to be set in motion.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
