metronomic

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

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

Updated on: 22 May 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

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
The track could be taken as a calmly metronomic homage to the Beach Boys and Supertramp, complete with vocal harmonies.

— jon pareles, New York Times, "The Playlist: Drake Preps for a Return, and 12 More New Songs," 26 Jan. 2018
View 65 Photos The metronomic soundtrack didn’t slow Timex much.

— Car and Driver, "The Battle of the Off-Road Beaters: Ford F-150 Custom vs. Geo Tracker, Jeep Cherokee, Land Rover Discovery," 30 Nov. 2016
Car bombs go off with almost metronomic regularity, each crunching blast a fresh bulletin from hell.

— dwight garner, New York Times, "In ‘Frankenstein in Baghdad,’ a Fantastical Manifestation of War’s Cruelties," 22 Jan. 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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