Definition of metronome
: an device designed to mark exact time by a regularly repeated tick
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metronome was our Word of the Day on 08/18/2008. Hear the podcast!
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Recent Examples of metronome from the Web
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Millie, who is part pit and part mystery (probably boxer, maybe lab, Burger guesses), popped up to a sit position to encourage more scratches, her tail sweeping the floor with the rhythm of a metronome.
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The noise of the pulses is like the beat of a metronome or a very fast elevator that beeps at every floor.
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Some of it is in faster metronome marks, in particular these percussion parts with all the orchestra going into chaos.
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The composer, when consulted by the first music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, Nikolai Sokoloff, corrected the Scherzo's initial metronome marking from 126 to 160 (in layman's terms, from fast to crazy fast).
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Two men managed near perfect scores with ease, their firing as steady as metronomes.
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With this in mind, United's financial department have given Jose Mourinho the green light to offer his north-London counterparts an opportunity to cash in on the stalling midfield metronome.
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Pulsars keep time like a metronome, but the detected fast radio bursts from 121102 don't appear (yet) to come at regular intervals.
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The Patriots, for a generation, have been metronomes of success.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'metronome.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
The patent for the metronome was entered in 1816: "John Malzl [sic], of Poland-street, Middlesex, Machinist; for an instrument . . . which he denominates a Metronome, or musical time-keeper." The courts, however, later proved that the aforementioned Johann Maelzel copied a pendulum design of Dietrich Winkel, making Winkel the actual inventor. Nonetheless, Maelzel was the more successful marketer of the metronome and even has a notation named after him. The "M.M." in notations like "M.M. = 60" stands for "Maelzel's metronome" and indicates a tempo of 60 beats per minute or a beat per tick of the metronome as it ticks 60 times, in the case of our example. The name of the invention itself is based on the Greek words metron, meaning "measure," and nomos, meaning "law."
Illustration of metronome
Origin and Etymology of metronome
METRONOME Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of metronome for English Language Learners
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: a device that makes a regular, repeated sound to show a musician how fast a piece of music should be played
METRONOME Defined for Kids
Definition of metronome for Students
: a device that ticks in a regular pattern to help a musician play a piece of music at the proper speed
Learn More about metronome
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See words that rhyme with metronome Spanish Central: Translation of metronome Nglish: Translation of metronome for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of metronome for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about metronome
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