offbeat
adjective /ˈɒfbiːt 
/ /ɒfˈbiːt /
/ /ɒfˈbiːt /1 Music Not coinciding with the beat: a rapid tempo is essential here, otherwise we will not sense the offbeat hemiolas...
- It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat, and the offbeat rhythm section.
- Sometimes Schumann would destroy my case by perpetrating a lengthy passage of manic offbeat accompaniment such as occurs twice in the first movement of No 3.
- Between the offbeat strum, subterranean bass and rock-steady drumming, they leave gaps that other bands would nervously clutter with ephemera.
2 informal Unconventional; unusual: she’s a little offbeat but she’s a wonderful actress...
- This cinema at that time showed very offbeat and unusual films.
- The humor is offbeat and unconventional, but much of it is funny.
- Dr. Seuss has been one of the most unusual and offbeat children's authors in literature.
Synonyms
unconventional, unorthodox, unusual, off-centre, eccentric, outré, idiosyncratic, strange, bizarre, weird, peculiar, odd, freakish, outlandish, out of the ordinary, Bohemian, alternative, left-field, hippy, zany, quirky;
avant-garde, novel, innovative
informal wacky, freaky, kinky, way-out, far out, kooky, oddball
North American informal off the wall, bizarro
noun /ˈɒfbiːt / Music
/ MusicAny of the normally unaccented beats in a bar: the horns come in full-force on the offbeats...
- McDowell's guitar playing on these songs was all about rhythm, a distinctive syncopated chug that emphasized the offbeats and often stayed on a single chord.
- The drum machine offbeats are still present, but instead of snarky basslines and slow grinds, the song features a wistfully high organ stomp, and shifting tempos throughout.
- This is all to say nothing of the beautiful, ever-rising backing that threads through the song; present in the verse, when the horns come in full-force on the offbeats.