triple time

American  

noun

Music.

1. time or rhythm characterized by three beats to the measure with an accent on the first beat.

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triple time British  

noun

1. musical time with three beats in each bar

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Etymology

Origin of triple time

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

My heart was beating triple time, waiting to see who’d sent it.

From Literature

Langston syncopates his verbal abstractions in double time and then triple time, delivering conundrums like: “Creative manners to skip and erase from moment to moment/abstract, realist, most problematic version of futurism.”

From New York Times

She didn’t respond, her heart pounding in triple time as she made her way to the attic.

From Literature

The second movement, a galloping scherzo in triple time, was brimming with character, and benefited greatly from Cox’s locomotive approach.

From Washington Post

He exploited time signatures and forms; for “Night Music,” he wrote a waltz, two sarabandes, two mazurkas, a polonaise, an étude and a gigue — nearly an entire score written in permutations of triple time.

From New York Times