offbeat

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offbeat

/ˈɒfbiːt/
/ɒfˈbiːt/

Rhymes with -iːt

Where it comes from

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

noun offbeats · off-beat · off beat

The beats not normally accented in a measure. The congregation clapped along on the offbeat.
figuratively, slang An unconventional person, someone who does not follow the beat, who chooses not to conform. No one dignified such offbeats by responding to their outcries. Today, the "knockers of progress" have become a force that cannot be ignored.
Similar: oddball, free spirit, heteroclite, individualist, nonconformist, outré, eccentric, deviant, deviate, maverick, misfit, offbeat

adjective more offbeat · most offbeat · off-beat · off beat

figuratively, slang Unusual; unconventional; not ordinary. He has such an offbeat sense of humor that hardly anyone finds his jokes amusing.
Similar: odd, peculiar, weird, aberrant, abnormal, alien, anomalous, as queer as Dick's hatband, bizarre, booky, curious, deviant

Translations

Every language

adj unusual, unconventional, not ordinary

Español	raro, poco convencional, original
Français	décalé
Deutsch	ungewöhnlich, unkonventionell, schräg
Русский	нестанда́ртный nestandártnyj, нетрадицио́нный netradiciónnyj, нешабло́нный nešablónnyj

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MLA

"offbeat." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/offbeat. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

offbeat. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/offbeat

Chicago

"offbeat." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/offbeat.

BibTeX

@misc{offbeat_2026,
  title = {offbeat},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/offbeat},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}