metronomic

adjective met·ro·nom·ic \ ˌme-trə-ˈnä-mik \

variants: or less commonly metronomical play \-mi-kəl\

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Definition of metronomic

1 : mechanically regular (as in action or tempo)

… the swimmer's arms lift and glide under the surface in a reliable metronomic cadence …
—Diana Nyad

2 medical : of, relating to, or being a drug or regimen of drugs administered in low doses at regular intervals over an extended period of time

metronomic chemotherapy

—

metronomically

play \-mik(ə-)lē\ adverb

Recent Examples of metronomic from the Web

Como, the once maniacal, me-hating escape artist, settled into a serene and even affectionate middle age, his morning bed visits and metronomic tail wags for food and walks and nightly treats a steady backbeat to our empty-nest life.

— steven winn, SFChronicle.com, "A loving family remembers the zeitgeist of Como the dog," 2 July 2018
In one sense Can has come and gone: The band split up in 1978 after operating since the late 1960s, and Mr. Czukay and another core member, the metronomic drummer Jaki Liebezeit, died in 2017.

— david renard, New York Times, "Can Was 40 Years Ahead of Its Time. A New Book Helps Us Catch Up.," 12 June 2018
Given his metronomic production over the past five years, that premise seemed sound and reasonable.

— nick piecoro, azcentral, "Paul Goldschmidt's woes highlighted during Arizona Diamondbacks' struggles," 31 May 2018
Not until Antonio Banderas arrives to play Maestro, the crucial voice coach who knocks Amos into shape, does this metronomic slog to stardom muster a pulse.

— jeannette catsoulis, New York Times, "Review: Andrea Bocelli, From Cradle to Stage in ‘The Music of Silence’," 1 Feb. 2018
Biogen’s treatment, aducanumab, showed unprecedented promise in a small, early-stage study, convincing the company to skip right to final-stage testing despite the metronomic failure of similar therapies.

— damian garde, STAT, "As Biogen turns 40, biotech worries the glory days may be over," 2 May 2018
Like baseball's Mike Trout, Crosby is a metronomic exemplar of all-around skill.

— adam kilgore, chicagotribune.com, "The subtle secret to Sidney Crosby's greatness," 30 Apr. 2018
The music is sumptuously fluid, despite its odd instrumentation: Taxt's rubbery low-end blubbering cradles bits of feedback, organlike drones, metronomic clicking, prepared guitar, and all manner of electronically manipulated scratching and rubbing.

— peter margasak, Chicago Reader, "Music / Post No Bills Jenny Hval collaborator Håvard Volden digs deeper into abstract sound in his own projects," 27 Apr. 2018
Themes of love, friendship and sacrifice pop up with metronomic consistency.

— justin chang, latimes.com, "'Avengers: Infinity War': a rousing Marvel mash-up, or a truly epic tease?," 24 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'metronomic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of metronomic

1866

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

metronomic

adjective met·ro·nom·ic \ ˌme-trə-ˈnäm-ik \

medical Definition of metronomic

: of, relating to, or being a drug or regimen of drugs administered in low doses at regular intervals over an extended period of time

metronomic cyclophosphamide

metronomic chemotherapy

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metronomic

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metronomically

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metronomically

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