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metronome

American  
[me-truh-nohm] / ˈmɛ trəˌnoʊm /

noun

  1. a mechanical or electrical instrument that makes repeated clicking sounds at an adjustable pace, used for marking rhythm, especially in practicing music.

metronome British  
/ ˌmɛtrəˈnɒmɪk, ˈmɛtrəˌnəʊm /

noun

  1. a mechanical device which indicates the exact tempo of a piece of music by producing a clicking sound from a pendulum with an adjustable period of swing

"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

Other Word Forms

  • metronomic adjective
  • metronomical adjective
  • metronomically adverb

Etymology

Origin of metronome

1810–20; metro- 1 + -nome < Greek nómos rule, law

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.

The half-crazed King, magnificently sung by the ever-disruptive Timur, lusts after Salome by speaking and singing at different speeds he selects on a metronome, as he entices her to type for him.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

The danger of these big moves—which are like a giant metronome that swings over the market—is that they can infect the analytical mind-set needed to successfully navigate markets with the momentum-trading virus.

From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026

These are the bluebloods, the old money of the investment world, steady as a metronome and just as thrilling.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 9, 2025

But all eyes should be on the key battle of the game: Odegaard's man-marking job on Vitinho, the metronome and orchestrator of Enrique's fluid possession football.

From BBC • May 7, 2025

He swung his right arm upward to shake Harry’s hand, but at the last moment seemed unable to face it, and merely closed his fist and began swinging it backward and forward like a metronome.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

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.