Illustration of metronome
metronome
noun
met·ro·nome
ˈme-trə-ˌnōm 
: a device designed to mark exact time by a regularly repeated tick
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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."
Examples of metronome in a Sentence
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Most novelists freely pump the gas and the brakes, zipping through the boring bits to get to the good ones, but his pacing is remorselessly steady, the metronome locked at 60, one second per second.
—
Lev Grossman, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2024
Walking through the halls of one of the building’s cavernous wings, past scribbles of graffiti and below giant concrete stairwells, our footsteps echo like a metronome.
—Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Aug. 2024
The only downside of the evening came in the fourth minute when midfielder metronome Sam Coffey picked up an early yellow card which will rule her out of her team’s game in the quarterfinals.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 31 July 2024
This suggests that using a metronome or running with music at a tempo slightly faster than the athlete’s usual cadence might improve economy for some, though the idea is endlessly debated.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 24 July 2024
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Lev Grossman, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2024
Walking through the halls of one of the building’s cavernous wings, past scribbles of graffiti and below giant concrete stairwells, our footsteps echo like a metronome.
—Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Aug. 2024
The only downside of the evening came in the fourth minute when midfielder metronome Sam Coffey picked up an early yellow card which will rule her out of her team’s game in the quarterfinals.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 31 July 2024
This suggests that using a metronome or running with music at a tempo slightly faster than the athlete’s usual cadence might improve economy for some, though the idea is endlessly debated.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 24 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for metronome
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Cite this Entry
“Metronome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metronome. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
metronome
noun
met·ro·nome
ˈme-trə-ˌnōm
: an instrument that ticks regularly to help a music student play in exact time
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