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Glite Dictionary
staccato beat

staccato beat

1 6.1
Short, sharp musical sounds that have clear gaps between notes
  • noun
  • /stəˈkɑːtoʊ biːt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ritmo staccato
  • The drummer played a staccato beat that kept everyone on the dance floor.

Examples

  • Children clapped their hands to the staccato beat of the song, creating a fun atmosphere.

  • The roar of the helicopter's engines and the staccato beat of its rotors drowned out all other sounds.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The best of the bad lot is probably Switch's "Bobblehead," with its staccato beats and chanted lyrics.

    Blog text (3)

  • The composer added a staccato beat to the piece, giving it a lively and energetic feel.

Synonyms

staccato rhythm
vsstaccato beat
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A pattern of short, sharp sounds or movements played quickly

is specific to musical use rather than to movements or speech

Antonyms

legato
  • Specialized
7.4

To play or sing smoothly so the notes join without breaks

How Detached

staccato beat
  • Specialized
1 6.1
syncopated
  • Specialized
2 7.5
beat
299 1.0

Surface Forms

staccato beat singular
staccato beats plural

Morphology

staccato + beat

The meaning is directly compositional: 'staccato' (short, distinctly separated sounds) modifies 'beat' (a rhythm), so the combined sense 'a rhythm of short, sharply separated notes' follows naturally. Even though 'staccato' is a musical/loanword, the adjective+noun pattern is regular and a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The musical phrase staccato beat creates the image of quick, separate taps. Here, staccato means short, cut-off sounds and a beat is a rhythm, so the phrase means 'short, sharply separated sounds'.