Subscriber login
Password
Forgot your password?
Library card login
Login with Shibboleth® »
Login with Athens »
Close menu
Oxford Dictionaries Online
The world's most trusted dictionaries
About
Subscriber services
What's new
Contact us
Help
Subscribe now
Already a subscriber or in a subscribing organization?
Login
Dictionary
Other language resources
US English
World English
Dictionary
Better writing
World of words
Puzzles and games
For children and schools
For learners of English
Email
Cite
offbeat
(off|beat)
adjective
Pronunciation:
/ˈɒfbiːt, ɒfˈbiːt/
1
Music
not coinciding with the beat:
a rapid tempo is essential here, otherwise we will not sense the offbeat hemiolas
2
informal
unconventional; unusual:
she’s a little offbeat but she’s a wonderful actress
noun
Pronunciation:
/ˈɒfbiːt/
Music
any of the normally unaccented beats in a bar:
the horns come in full-force on the offbeats
More words in this category
check
1
dirge
double concerto
fanfare
glee club
keen
2
keynote
mazurka
mod
1
pickup
resolve
siciliano
superius
transfer
triplet
Nearby Words
off-white
off-width
off-world
Off.
Offa
offa
Offa's Dyke
offal
Offaly
offbeat
offcomer
offcut
Offenbach, Jacques
offence
offend
offended
offender
offensive
offer