backbeat

American  

[bak-beet] / ˈbækˌbit /

noun

Popular Music.

1. a secondary or supplementary beat, as by a jazz drummer.

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backbeat British  

/ ˈbækˌbiːt /

noun

1. music the second and fourth beats of a bar written in even time or, in more complex time signatures, the last beat of the bar Compare downbeat upbeat

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Etymology

Origin of backbeat

back ¹ + beat

Example Sentences

The album’s opener, “What Can I Say,” is a rollicking, danceable breakup song fortified by a sharp backbeat, funky bassline and synthesizer strings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

The album started with quiet wind and then turned into a tornado of thunder and sirens, swordplay and gunfire over big horns and a funky soul backbeat.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026

Others were written especially for the album, like “Dance Revival,” which features a foot-stomping, hand-clapping backbeat behind the electrifying voice of Jekalyn Carr.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 26, 2023

They sing about “Warm sliding sun through the cave of your hair” over a galloping backbeat, with early hallmarks of Crosby’s songwriting: a modal drone in the verses, a meter shift to change things up.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2023

They created a cultural rumble, a backbeat of intrigue.

From Washington Post • Nov. 17, 2022