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quadruple time

American  

noun

Music.

  1. a measure consisting of four beats or pulses with accent on the first and third.

  2. the rhythm created by use of this measure.

quadruple time British  

noun

  1. musical time in which there are four beats in each bar

"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 quadruple time

First recorded in 1895–1900

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 first sound on the album is the quick, quiet rustle of the drummer Jason McGerr’s cymbals, quadruple time over what will emerge as the beat.

From New York Times • May 30, 2011

These were always put into rhythmic form, and the measures, sometimes in triple and sometimes in quadruple time in many varieties, were invariably indicated by means of accentuation.

From Memories of a Musical Life by Mason, William

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.