offbeat

1 of 2

noun

off·​beat ˈȯf-ˌbēt How to pronounce offbeat (audio)
: an unaccented beat or portion of a beat in a musical measure

offbeat

2 of 2

adjective

off·​beat ˈȯf-ˈbēt How to pronounce offbeat (audio)
: different from the ordinary, usual, or expected in usually an appealing way : eccentric, unconventional
an offbeat romantic comedy
… you have to drive through a shallow stream to reach this wonderfully offbeat inn, hiding behind immaculate rows of fruit trees. But it's worth it.William Sertl
Luscious ice cream made fresh daily comes in such offbeat flavors as banana-walnut, chocolate-cherry, and nectarine.Caroline Bates
… our profession's deepest and darkest secret—that libraries are a ball to work in and that librarians tend to be rather offbeat and funky people.Will Manley

Examples of offbeat in a Sentence

Adjective She has an offbeat sense of humor. He often plays offbeat characters in his films. an offbeat approach to teaching The performance was refreshingly offbeat.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Burke has revived his show for the streaming age, with six new episodes about the way things change, maintaining the series’s integrity and also its appetite for the offbeat. Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 23 Nov. 2023 As Neumann prepares the 30th film festival (the 2023 event runs Sept. 13-17), that original Oldenburg spirit — the celebration of the offbeat, the weird and the fiercely radical — remains his guiding light. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2023
Adjective
Dupieux pays homage to Dalí’s artistic genius, his idiosyncrasies, and his supreme ego in an offbeat, absurdist riff that sees a French journalist (Anaïs Demoustier) repeatedly meeting the artist to begin an interview for a documentary film project that never starts shooting. Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024 The sadness underlying its horror feels rooted in the ground feminists have lost since the ’90s—a decade when, as the casting of some of its most offbeat teen stars underlines and a soundtrack heavy on PJ Harvey and Tori Amos illustrates, pop culture made unprecedented space for young women’s rage. Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for offbeat 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'offbeat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1901, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of offbeat was in 1901

Dictionary Entries Near offbeat

Cite this Entry

“Offbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offbeat. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

offbeat

1 of 2 noun
off·​beat ˈȯf-ˌbēt How to pronounce offbeat (audio)
: a musical beat or part of a musical beat that is not accented

offbeat

2 of 2 adjective
: not ordinary : unusual

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