iamb

[ ahy-am, ahy-amb ]

noun

, Prosody.

1. a foot of two syllables, a short followed by a long in quantitative meter, or an unstressed followed by a stressed in accentual meter, as in Come live / with me / and be / my love.

iamb

/ ˈaɪæm; ˈaɪæmb; aɪˈæmbəs /

noun

1. a metrical foot consisting of two syllables, a short one followed by a long one ( )
2. a line of verse of such feet

Word History and Origins

Origin of iamb¹

First recorded in 1835–45; short for iambus

Word History and Origins

Origin of iamb¹

C19 iamb, from C16 iambus, from Latin, from Greek iambos

Example Sentences

All I can say is, iamb happy to have been there for it.

From Washington Post

Five iambs and an anapest was the beat he tramped to now.

From Literature

Without the translation, the vuvv’s ode, its scratchy iambs and dactyls, sound like someone walking forcefully in corduroys.

From Literature

That’s the spirit of the terrible, wonderful “Desperate Measures”: Have iamb, will travel.

From New York Times

You could wish that Mr. Stuelpnagel had found more to work with in the iambs.

From New York Times