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downbeat

[ doun-beet ]
/ ˈdaʊnˌbit /
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See synonyms for: downbeat / downbeats on Thesaurus.com

noun Music.
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
gloomy or depressing; pessimistic: Hollywood movies seldom have downbeat endings.
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Origin of downbeat

1875–80; down1 + beat (noun)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use downbeat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for downbeat

downbeat
/ (ˈdaʊnˌbiːt) /

noun
music the first beat of a bar or the downward gesture of a conductor's baton indicating thisCompare upbeat
adjective
informal depressed; gloomy
informal relaxed; unemphatic
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
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