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.

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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

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adjective

1. informal depressed; gloomy

2. informal relaxed; unemphatic

Etymology

Origin of downbeat

1875–80; down ¹ + beat (noun)

Example Sentences

One silver lining is that even the most downbeat year-end S&P 500 target now implies nearly 10% upside.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

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

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

Norwegian’s sales miss and downbeat booking and profit outlooks spark concern about demand for cruises.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

Best Buy’s fiscal fourth-quarter report could hardly be seen as strong, but because Wall Street was expecting weak sales and a downbeat outlook, the results were good enough for its stock.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026

Guy Greco struck the downbeat three final times—hop^hop-hop—and the two lines collided at the gate in a frenzy of hugs and shrieks and kisses.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli