Meanings
present singular third person marches to the beat of a different drum · participle present marching to the beat of a different drum · participle past marched to the beat of a different drum · past marched to the beat of a different drum · alternative march to a different drum · alternative march to a different drummer · alternative march to one's own drum · alternative march to one's own drummer · alternative march to the beat of a different drummer · alternative march to the beat of one's own drum · alternative march to the beat of one's own drummer · alternative march to a different beat · alternative march to a different tune · alternative march to the beat of a different tune
- idiomaticTo do things in one's own way regardless of societal norms and conventional expectations.
The ad ends with a shot of Mark pushing the car down a hill and Suzanne saying, "He still marches to the beat of a different drum."
2004, Danny Hakim, “E.P.A. Energy-Saving Spots Give Cars Short Shrift”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 Jul 20112 more examples
Siegfried and Roy, two nuts from Germany, are out of their wealthy little minds. They live in a mansion whose ceiling is painted like the Sistine Chapel, with either Siegfried or Roy (who can remember?) in place of Adam. Roy has a "meditation chamber" (the rest of us have dressing rooms) furnished with a mystic rug and cages for his tigers. They wow the crowd with heavy machinery and endangered-species eugenics. I love S&R. They march to the beat of a different drum machine.
1994 January 10, Penn Jillette, “Las Vegas: Tonight! Miracles, Live!”, in TimeA defense of non-conformism, deceptively simple in tone and construction, and only slightly political, it is the story of a loner . . . who stays in bed on Bastille Day and ignores the military parade . . . "the good people don't like it when you take a path different from theirs," when you march to the beat of a different drum.
2004, Larry Portis, French Frenzies: A Social History of Pop Music in France, →ISBN, page 114
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 獨樹一幟 /独树一帜, 標新立異 /标新立异
- 獨樹一幟 /独树一帜 (dúshùyīzhì)to do things unconventionally
- 標新立異 /标新立异 (biāoxīnlìyì)to do things unconventionally
- 特立獨行 /特立独行 (tèlìdúxíng)to do things unconventionally
- 不走尋常路 /不走寻常路 (bù zǒu xúncháng lù)to do things unconventionally
Finnish kulkea omia polkujaan
- kulkea omia polkujaanto do things unconventionally
German aus der Reihe tanzen, aus der Art schlagen
- aus der Reihe tanzento do things unconventionally
- aus der Art schlagento do things unconventionally
Portuguese fazer as coisas do seu jeito
- fazer as coisas do seu jeitoto do things unconventionally
Russian идти́ свои́м путём, идти́ не в но́гу с други́ми
- идти́ свои́м путём (idtí svoím putjóm)to do things unconventionally
- идти́ не в но́гу с други́ми (idtí ne v nógu s drugími)to do things unconventionally
Spanish marchar al ritmo de un diferente tambor
- marchar al ritmo de un diferente tamborto do things unconventionally
Cite this entry
march to the beat of a different drum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/march%20to%20the%20beat%20of%20a%20different%20drum
“march to the beat of a different drum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/march%20to%20the%20beat%20of%20a%20different%20drum. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “march to the beat of a different drum,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/march%20to%20the%20beat%20of%20a%20different%20drum.
Source: march to the beat of a different drum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.