downbeat
Americannoun
-
the downward stroke of a conductor's arm or baton indicating the first or accented beat of a measure.
-
the first beat of a measure.
adjective
noun
adjective
-
informal depressed; gloomy
-
informal relaxed; unemphatic
Etymology
Origin of downbeat
Vocabulary lists containing downbeat
Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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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.
A software executive leaving to work for a chip company feeds Wall Street’s downbeat narrative around software stocks, which continue to struggle amid AI replacement fears.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
And the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published downbeat scenarios for global growth this week if flows don’t normalize soon.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
“The Kindness of Strangers” is set in London in 1953, where the downbeat postwar economy has brought together a group of lodgers in the ramshackle house owned by Honor Wilson.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
In all, no fewer than 26 of the 49 analysts surveyed by FactSet who cover Zscaler lowered their stock-price targets in the wake of the downbeat guidance.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
Then the piano keys trilled and the guitar and bass and drums pounced on the downbeat and I forgot all about Vonetta, the record needle, and getting in trouble.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Definitions 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.
