Meanings
plural metronomes
- entertainmentA device, containing an inverted pendulum, used to mark time by means of regular ticks at adjustable intervals; an electronic equivalent that emits flashes.
The etudes with metronome markings should be played in tempo, all others should be considered rubato.
2007, Michele Weir, Jazz Piano Handbook, Alfred Music Publishing, →ISBN, page 1101 more example
It’s one of the earliest pieces in the comprehensive collection of metronomes by the British instrument dealer Tony Bingham, which forms the bulk of the Basel exhibition.
2017 June 30, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, “Ticktock as Taskmaster: A Show About Metronomes and Musical Time”, in The New York Times
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Ancient Greekμέτρον“measure”
- Englishmetronome
Coined in English from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”) + νόμος (nómos, “regulation, law”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans metronoom
- metronooma device used in music
Arabic مِيتْرُونُوم, مِسْرَع
- مِيتْرُونُوم (mītrūnūm)a device used in music
- مِسْرَع (misraʕ)a device used in music
Basque metronomo
- metronomoa device used in music
Bulgarian метроном
- метроном (metronom)a device used in music
Catalan metrònom
- metrònoma device used in music
Chinese Mandarin 節拍器 /节拍器, 拍子機 /拍子机
- 節拍器 /节拍器 (jiépāiqì)a device used in music
- 拍子機 /拍子机 (pāizijī)a device used in music
- 拍節器 /拍节器 (pāijiéqì)a device used in music
Czech metronom
- metronoma device used in music
Danish metronom
- metronoma device used in music
Dutch metronoom
- metronooma device used in music
Esperanto metronomo
- metronomoa device used in music
Estonian metronoom
- metronooma device used in music
Finnish metronomi, tahtimittari
- metronomia device used in music
- tahtimittaria device used in music
French métronome
- métronomea device used in music
German Metronom
- Metronoma device used in music
Greek μετρονόμος
- μετρονόμος (metronómos)a device used in music
Hebrew מטרונום
- מטרונום (metronóm)a device used in music
Hindi तालमान
- तालमान (tālmān)a device used in music
Hungarian ütemmérő, metronóm
- ütemmérőa device used in music
- metronóma device used in music
Indonesian metronom
- metronoma device used in music
Irish méadranóm
- méadranóma device used in music
Italian metronomo
- metronomoa device used in music
Japanese メトロノーム
- メトロノーム (metoronōmu)a device used in music
Korean 메트로놈
- 메트로놈 (meteuronom)a device used in music
Latvian metronoms
- metronomsa device used in music
Lithuanian metronomas
- metronomasa device used in music
Malay metronom
- metronoma device used in music
Māori inetaki
- inetakia device used in music
Norwegian Bokmål metronom
- metronoma device used in music
Persian مترونوم
- مترونوم (metronom)a device used in music
Polish metronom
- metronoma device used in music
Portuguese metrônomo, metrónomo
- metrônomoa device used in music
- metrónomoa device used in music
Romanian metronom
- metronoma device used in music
Russian метроно́м
- метроно́м (metronóm)a device used in music
Slovak metronóm
- metronóma device used in music
Spanish metrónomo
- metrónomoa device used in music
Swedish metronom
- metronoma device used in music
Thai เมโทรนอม
- เมโทรนอม (may-tho-ron-om)a device used in music
Turkish metronom
- metronoma device used in music
Ukrainian метроно́м
- метроно́м (metronóm)a device used in music
Vietnamese máy nhịp
- máy nhịpa device used in music
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
metronome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metronome
“metronome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metronome. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “metronome,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metronome.
Source: metronome on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.