downbeat: Meaning and Definition of

down•beat

Pronunciation: (doun'bēt"), [key]
— n. Music.
  1. the downward stroke of a conductor's arm or baton indicating the first or accented beat of a measure.
  2. the first beat of a measure.
—adj.
  1. gloomy or depressing; pessimistic: Hollywood movies seldom have downbeat endings.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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