backbeat

American

[bak-beet] / ˈbækˌbit /

noun

Popular Music.

a secondary or supplementary beat, as by a jazz drummer.

backbeat British

/ ˈbækˌbiːt /

noun

music the second and fourth beats of a bar written in even time or, in more complex time signatures, the last beat of the bar Compare downbeat upbeat

"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

Etymology

Origin of backbeat

back ¹ + beat

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:

backbeat

That intro synth loop is very Whigs v2, in that it feels like it got borrowed from the Twilight Singers, as is the gently hypnotic backbeat and the female vocals.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

"The world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas. His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top," Gibbons said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

"His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top. The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

The album’s opener, “What Can I Say,” is a rollicking, danceable breakup song fortified by a sharp backbeat, funky bassline and synthesizer strings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

What had been the backbeat of a bygone epoch, the waltz amazingly survived in the 20th century.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2024

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