used to refer to a rhythm (= pattern of words) used in poetry, in which each short syllable that is not stressed is followed by a long or stressed syllable

Most of Shakespeare's verse is written in iambic pentameter (= rhythm with each line made of five iambic pairs). 莎士比亚的大部分诗歌都是以抑扬五音步写成的，每行诗都由五对抑扬格组成。