rhythm

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the arrangement of spoken words alternating stressed and unstressed elements

   the rhythm of Frost's poetry

2. 2
   noun

   the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music

   the piece has a fast rhythm

3. 3
   noun

   The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter.

   Dance to the rhythm of the music.

4. 4
   noun

   A specifically defined pattern of such variation.

   Most dances have a rhythm as distinctive as the Iambic verse in poetry

5. 5
   noun

   A flow, repetition or regularity.

   Once you get the rhythm of it, the job will become easy.

6. 6
   noun

   The tempo or speed of a beat, song or repetitive event.

   We walked with a quick, even rhythm.

7. 7
   noun

   The musical instruments which provide rhythm (mainly; not or less melody) in a musical ensemble.

   The Baroque term basso continuo is virtually equivalent to rhythm

8. 8
   noun

   A regular quantitative change in a variable (notably natural) process.

   The rhythm of the seasons dominates agriculture as well as wildlife

Etymology

First coined in 1557, from Latin rhythmus, from Ancient Greek ῥυθμός (rhuthmós, “any measured flow or movement, symmetry, rhythm”), from ῥέω (rhéō, “to flow, run, stream, gush”).