on-beatadj.n.
/ˈɒnˌbiːt/, U.S. /ˈɔnˈbit/, /ˈɑnˈbit/ Music.
A. adj.
Corresponding in time with the most accented beat in the bar. Cf. offbeat adj.
ΚΠ
1961 John o' London's 9 Nov. 519/3 The pattern they tread is on-beat in the off-beat regions.
1989 P. van der Merwe Origins Pop. Style xix. 161 In earlier European music, when cross-rhythms were so much more a normal part of the music fabric, they were often performed in the African way, just like on-beat phrases.
2001 Terrorizer Sept. 45/1 ‘Sepulchral Voice’ just does not sound the same with on-beat drumming.
B. n.
The most accented beat in a bar; also in analogous uses with respect to poetry, etc. Cf. offbeat n.
ΚΠ
1977 J. Wainwright Do Nothin' xi. 199 The trumpets..staccato, right on the beat, and the on-beats climbing triplets.
1985 S. Booth True Adventures Rolling Stones viii. 63 Terrible drummer, always comin' in on the onbeat.
2002 Africa News (Nexis) 21 Feb. We couldn't believe it: a perfectly fitting authentic vocal and a wonderfully complex violin part that works with both the onbeat and the backbeat.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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