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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

• metronomic adjective
• metronomical adjective
• metronomically adverb

Etymology

Origin of metronome

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

Example Sentences

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

"We're now starting to understand how the uterus acts as both a muscle and a metronome to ensure that labor follows the body's own rhythm."

From Science Daily

The rhythm of it could be a metronome for this movie’s plot — it whips us around to the point of delighted collapse.

From Los Angeles Times

The young Broad's cricketing hero was Australia metronome Glenn McGrath, and his development was accelerated by a spell as an 18-year-old with Melbourne club Hoppers Crossing.

From BBC

The night sky contains remarkably precise "cosmic clocks": pulsars, which are dense neutron stars that emit radio pulses at steady intervals, ticking like perfectly timed metronomes.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• timer