Phrase guide

march to the beat of a different drum

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To do things in one's own way regardless of societal norms and conventional expectations.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 獨樹一幟 /独树一帜 (dúshùyīzhì) — to do things unconventionally
  • Chinese Mandarin: 標新立異 /标新立异 (biāoxīnlìyì) — to do things unconventionally
  • Chinese Mandarin: 特立獨行 /特立独行 (tèlìdúxíng) — to do things unconventionally
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不走尋常路 /不走寻常路 (bù zǒu xúncháng lù) — to do things unconventionally
  • Finnish: kulkea omia polkujaan — to do things unconventionally
  • German: aus der Reihe tanzen — to do things unconventionally
  • German: aus der Art schlagen — to do things unconventionally
  • Portuguese: fazer as coisas do seu jeito — to do things unconventionally
  • Russian: идти́ свои́м путём (idtí svoím putjóm) — to do things unconventionally
  • Russian: идти́ не в но́гу с други́ми (idtí ne v nógu s drugími) — to do things unconventionally
  • Spanish: marchar al ritmo de un diferente tambor — to do things unconventionally