iamb

American  

[ahy-am, ahy-amb] / ˈaɪ æm, ˈaɪ æmb /

noun

Prosody.

1. a foot of two syllables, a short followed by a long in quantitative meter, or an unstressed followed by a stressed in accentual meter, as in Come live / with me / and be / my love.

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iamb British  

/ ˈaɪæm, ˈaɪæmb, aɪˈæmbəs /

noun

1. a metrical foot consisting of two syllables, a short one followed by a long one ( )

2. a line of verse of such feet

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Etymology

Origin of iamb

First recorded in 1835–45; short for iambus

Example Sentences

All I can say is, iamb happy to have been there for it.

From Washington Post

That’s the spirit of the terrible, wonderful “Desperate Measures”: Have iamb, will travel.

From New York Times

You could wish that Mr. Stuelpnagel had found more to work with in the iambs.

From New York Times

Sometimes Mr. Wolfert will offer genuinely persuasive analyses, like dark and insightful readings of Antony’s speech in “Julius Caesar” or a section of “Henry V,” but mostly the iambs gum up his own story.

From New York Times

“A Sense of Where You Are:” the mysterious second-person tense, the seesawing iambs — it draws you in.

From New York Times