syncopation

American  

[sing-kuh-pey-shuhn, sin-] / ˌsɪŋ kəˈpeɪ ʃən, ˌsɪn- /

noun

1. Music. a shifting of the normal accent, usually by stressing the normally unaccented beats.

2. something, as a rhythm or a passage of music, that is syncopated. syncopated.

3. Also called counterpoint rhythm.  Also called counterpoint.  Prosody. the use of rhetorical stress at variance with the metrical stress of a line of verse, as the stress on and and of in Come praise Colonus' horses and come praise/The wine-dark of the wood's intricacies.

4. Grammar. syncope.

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syncopation British  

/ ˌsɪŋkəˈpeɪʃən /

noun

1. music

   1. the displacement of the usual rhythmic accent away from a strong beat onto a weak beat

   2. a note, beat, rhythm, etc, produced by syncopation

2. another word for syncope

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Other Word Forms

• nonsyncopation noun

Etymology

Origin of syncopation

1525–35; < Medieval Latin syncopātiōn- (stem of syncopātiō ), equivalent to Late Latin syncopāt ( us ) ( syncopate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Their sound differed from the melody-rich music of Bob Marley, with a heavier emphasis on the beat - including the pioneering "rockers" rhythm, which introduced more syncopation and energy to the music.

From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026

Before long, she was able to do this with music recorded live in a studio with natural fluctuations, complex instrumentation and syncopation, meaning different beats were emphasized in different measures, Cook explained.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2025

The production is crystal clear, with rumbling bass, percolating syncopation and lovely acoustic guitars in the bridge.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2024

Donato’s syncopation influenced the guitar beat developed by João Gilberto that blossomed into the bossa nova movement.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 17, 2023

The reason it’s called synco-pa is that it is short for the word syncopation, which means to have a rhythm that is ‘off-beat’ or doesn’t fall right on the beats of a song.”

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin