/ ˈrɪðəm; NAmE / noun [ U , C ]
1.
a strong regular repeated pattern of sounds or movements :
to dance to the rhythm of the music
music with a fast / slow / steady rhythm
jazz rhythms
He can't seem to play in rhythm .
The boat rocked up and down in rhythm with the sea.
the rhythm of her breathing
a dancer with a natural sense of rhythm (= the ability to move in time to a fixed beat)
2.
a regular pattern of changes or events :
the rhythm of the seasons
biological / body rhythms
—see also biorhythm
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (also originally in the sense rhyme ): from French rhythme , or via Latin from Greek rhuthmos (related to rhein to flow).