- to modify or treat (a beat, rhythm, note, etc) by syncopation
- to shorten (a word) by omitting sounds or letters from the middle
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
syn•co•pate /ˈsɪŋkəˌpeɪt/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object], -pat•ed, -pat•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Music and Dance
- to subject (musical rhythm) to syncopation.
syn•co•pate
(sing′kə pāt′, sin′-),USA pronunciation v.t., -pat•ed, -pat•ing.
syn′co•pa′tor, n.
- Music and Dance
- to place (the accents) on beats that are normally unaccented.
- to treat (a passage, piece, etc.) in this way.
- Phonetics[Gram.]to contract (a word) by omitting one or more sounds from the middle, as in reducing Gloucester to Gloster.
- Medieval Latin syncopātus (past participle of syncopāre to shorten by syncope). See syncope, -ate1
- 1595–1605
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
syncopate /ˈsɪŋkəˌpeɪt/ vb (transitive)
'syncopate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):