metronomic

adjective

met·​ro·​nom·​ic ˌme-trə-ˈnä-mik 

variants or less commonly metronomical

ˌme-trə-ˈnä-mi-kəl 

1

: mechanically regular (as in action or tempo)

… the swimmer's arms lift and glide under the surface in a reliable metronomic cadence …

—Diana Nyad

2

medical : of, relating to, or being a drug or regimen of drugs administered in low doses at regular intervals over an extended period of time

metronomic chemotherapy

metronomically

ˌme-trə-ˈnä-mi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of metronomic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At the end of the evening, during the Q&A, one question arrives with metronomic regularity: Who was the individual most responsible for America’s victory in the Cold War? —Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 11 Feb. 2025

There was a lot to take in as this was all happening: The dancers draped in the colors of the American flag all stepping in metronomic precision. —Damien Scott, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019

But the metronomic rhythm Oroz possessed was prescient. —Megan Feringa, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025

Their strong magnetic fields can produce beams of radio waves that sweep across the sky like a lighthouse, resulting in metronomic radio pulses with intervals ranging from milliseconds to seconds. —Bydaniel Clery, science.org, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

metronomic

adjective

met·​ro·​nom·​ic ˌme-trə-ˈnäm-ik 

: of, relating to, or being a drug or regimen of drugs administered in low doses at regular intervals over an extended period of time

metronomic cyclophosphamide

metronomic chemotherapy