Standard Lemma guide

offbeat

adj · noun · 5 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɒfˈbiːt/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːt
  • /ˈɒfbiːt/
  • CMU ARPABET: AO1 F B IY1 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Unusual; unconventional; not ordinary.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He has such an offbeat sense of humor that hardly anyone finds his jokes amusing.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: odd, peculiar, weird, aberrant, abnormal, alien, anomalous, as queer as Dick's hatband, bizarre, booky, curious, deviant, discrepant, eerie, eldritch, errant, exceptional, extraordinary, fey, forby, freak, freakish, freaky, fremd, funny, heteroclite, hinky, incongruous, incongruitous, irregular, kooky, monstrous, nonstandard, outlandish, out of the ordinary, outré, quaint, queer, queer as a clockwork orange, queer as a nine bob note, queer as a three dollar bill, queer as a coot, queer as Dick's hatband, rare, rum, rummy, selcouth, seld, singular, strange, trippy, uncanny, uncommon, uncouth, unconventional, unearthly, unexpected, unreasonable, unusual, unwonted, weirdsome, yampy

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The beats not normally accented in a measure.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

Examples

  • The congregation clapped along on the offbeat.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An unconventional person, someone who does not follow the beat, who chooses not to conform.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: oddball, free spirit, heteroclite, individualist, nonconformist, eccentric, deviant, deviate, maverick, misfit, offbeat, bizarro, coot, crackpot, crank, freak, glaik, hard case, kook, live one, nutbag, nutbar, nutcase, nutter, oddity, odd bod, odd duck, odd fish, queerdo, queer fish, rum, strange bird, strange fish, strangeling, wack, wacko, weirdie, weirdling, weirdo, wild man, wingnut

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

informal terms; strikingly unconventional

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: far-out, kinky, quirky, way-out

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

an unaccented beat (especially the last beat of a measure)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: upbeat

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: rhythm, beat, musical rhythm

History

Etymology

From off- + beat; not following the beat (e.g., of a drum that sounds out cadence).

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Estonian: ebaharilik — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Finnish: epätavallinen — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Finnish: omituinen — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Finnish: outolintu — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • French: décalé — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Galician: non convencional — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • German: ungewöhnlich — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • German: unkonventionell — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • German: schräg — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Hungarian: szokatlan — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Hungarian: formabontó — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Hungarian: nem megszokott/szokványos — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Polish: niekonwencjonalny — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Polish: nietypowy — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Russian: нестанда́ртный (nestandártnyj) — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Russian: нетрадицио́нный (netradiciónnyj) — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Russian: нешабло́нный (nešablónnyj) — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Spanish: raro — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Spanish: poco convencional — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Spanish: original — unusual, unconventional, not ordinary
  • Māori: taki iti — the beat not normally accented
  • Polish: słaba część taktu — the beat not normally accented
Real reading context

offbeat in complete knowledge articles