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Synonyms

downbeat

American  
[doun-beet] / ˈdaʊnˌbit /

noun

Music.

  1. the downward stroke of a conductor's arm or baton indicating the first or accented beat of a measure.

  2. the first beat of a measure.

adjective

  1. gloomy or depressing; pessimistic.

    Hollywood movies seldom have downbeat endings.
downbeat British  
/ ˈdaʊnˌbiːt /

noun

  1. music the first beat of a bar or the downward gesture of a conductor's baton indicating this Compare 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

adjective

  1. informal depressed; gloomy

  2. 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

Etymology

Origin of downbeat

1875–80; down 1 + beat (noun)

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 quarterly survey of U.S. professionals on LinkedIn shows that workers have had a downbeat assessment of the labor market for the past year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Despite the downbeat earnings outlook, Hyundai shares climbed about 80% this year, attributed by analysts to AI and robotics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Compounding the downbeat mood was news Friday that the US economy unexpectedly lost jobs in February, while unemployment edged up.

From Barron's • Mar. 9, 2026

He headed to his downbeat captain Harry Brook, who was slouched by the boundary edge.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

The track was slick, though—a heavy double downbeat you could feel in your gut and clickity-clack rim shots bouncing back and forth like two stuttering ghosts.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

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.