polyrhythm

American

[pol-ee-rith-uhm] / ˈpɒl iˌrɪð əm /

noun

Music.

the simultaneous occurrence of sharply contrasting rhythms within a composition.

polyrhythm British

/ ˈpɒlɪˌrɪðəm /

noun

music a style of composition in which each part exhibits different rhythms

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of polyrhythm

First recorded in 1925–30; poly- + rhythm

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.

Polyrhythm formed a latticework for Thom Yorke’s voice, a source of steady luminosity.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2011

Polyrhythm, as it has since been dubbed, had long existed in African tribal drumming, improvised on the spot by highly intuitive, skillful players, often in various states of trance.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023