movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like.
Music.
the pattern of regular or irregular pulses caused in music by the occurrence of strong and weak melodic and harmonic beats.
a particular form of this: duple rhythm; triple rhythm.
measured movement, as in dancing.
Art, Literature. a patterned repetition of a motif, formal element, etc., at regular or irregular intervals in the same or a modified form.
the effect produced in a play, film, novel, etc., by the combination or arrangement of formal elements, as length of scenes, speech and description, timing, or recurrent themes, to create movement, tension, and emotional value in the development of the plot.
Prosody.
metrical or rhythmical form; meter; cadence.
a particular kind of metrical form.
metrical movement.
the pattern of recurrent strong and weak accents, vocalization and silence, and the distribution and combination of these elements in speech.
Physiology. the regular recurrence of an action or function, as of the beat of the heart, or the menstrual cycle.
procedure marked by the regular recurrence of particular elements, phases, etc.: the rhythm of the seasons.
regular recurrence of elements in a system of motion.
Origin of rhythm
1550–60; <Latin rhythmus<Greek rhythmós; compare rheîn to flow
Millions of workers are unemployed, countless businesses are closed, and for many, the rhythms of work life may have been permanently changed.
Even With A Vaccine, The Economy Could Take Many Months To Return To Normal|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux|August 25, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
HeartMath’s Inner Balance sensor for iPhone and Android measures heart rhythm patterns to gauge users’ emotional states with an app that also includes guided meditations, real-time coaching tips, and journaling.
5 companies that want to track your emotions|jakemeth|August 22, 2020|Fortune
The refs themselves were out of rhythm and needed time to readjust to the speed of the game.
Why Have NBA Offenses Been So Good In The Bubble?|Mike Prada|August 20, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
One big question, though, is whether women will turn out at high rates this year, with their kids out of school and the ordinary rhythms of life and work in disarray.
Women Won The Right To Vote 100 Years Ago. They Didn’t Start Voting Differently From Men Until 1980.|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux|August 19, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
There’s almost a musicality and rhythm to the way he speaks.
Vidal vs. Buckley play reinvented as film|Patrick Folliard|August 8, 2020|Washington Blade
Sometimes a column has the economy and rhythm of a short story.
The Best Columns of 2014|John Avlon, Errol Louis|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Royal Christmases have a rhythm and routine—but this year Will, Kate, and baby George have their own, more relaxed plans.
Prince George’s Christmas: Better Than Yours|Tom Sykes|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A car parked at a red light honked its horn in rhythm with the chant as the crowd passed in front of it.
‘They Let Him Off?’ Scenes from NYC in Disbelief|Jacob Siegel|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Most rhythm sections play pretty straight, but we were pushing him, the way we were with Miles.
Many good stories have rhythm, recurrence, repetition of the leit motiv.
Picture-Work|Walter L. (Walter Lowrie) Hervey
The heart's action is often disturbed in its rhythm, and sympathetic dyspnoea leads to suspicion of disease of the lungs.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II|Various
Rhythm was simply ease, as separateness, due to want of rhythm, was dis-ease.
The Promise of Air|Algernon Blackwood
The drums took on a rhythm, a throbbing in 5/8 time, rapid, venomous.
West Of The Sun|Edgar Pangborn
Don't smile, because I have explored the most fantastic regions of rhythm, hitherto undreamed.
Melomaniacs|James Huneker
British Dictionary definitions for rhythm
rhythm
/ (ˈrɪðəm) /
noun
the arrangement of the relative durations of and accents on the notes of a melody, usually laid out into regular groups (bars) of beats, the first beat of each bar carrying the stress
any specific arrangement of such groupings; timequadruple rhythm
(in poetry)
the arrangement of words into a more or less regular sequence of stressed and unstressed or long and short syllables
any specific such arrangement; metre
(in painting, sculpture, architecture, etc) a harmonious sequence or pattern of masses alternating with voids, of light alternating with shade, of alternating colours, etc
any sequence of regularly recurring functions or events, such as the regular recurrence of certain physiological functions of the body, as the cardiac rhythm of the heartbeat
Derived forms of rhythm
rhythmless, adjective
Word Origin for rhythm
C16: from Latin rhythmus, from Greek rhuthmos; related to rhein to flow
pattern, tempo, flow, pulse, swing, cadence, movement, cadency, uniformity, downbeat, rhyme, measure, meter, lilt, regularity, bounce, time, periodicity, metre
Cultural definitions for rhythm
rhythm
The “beat” of music; the regular pattern of long and short notes. Certain kinds of music, such as blues or marches, have a very characteristic rhythm. Rhythm, harmony, and melody are elements of music.