Illustration of drum
- 1 bass
- 2 snare (orchestra)
- 3 snare (parade)
1
: a percussion instrument consisting of a hollow shell or cylinder with a drumhead stretched over one or both ends that is beaten with the hands or with some implement (such as a stick or wire brush)
3
: the sound of a drum
also
: a sound similar to that of a drum
4
: any of various chiefly marine bony fishes (family Sciaenidae) that make a drumming or croaking noise using their air bladder and associated muscles
5
: something resembling a drum in shape: such as
a(1)
: any of the cylindrical blocks that form the shaft of a column
(2)
: a round wall or structure that supports a dome
b
: a cylindrical machine or mechanical device or part
c
: a cylindrical container
specifically
: a large usually metal container for liquids
a 55-gallon drum
d
: a disk-shaped magazine for an automatic weapon
drummed; drumming
1
: to make a succession of strokes or vibrations that produce sounds like drumbeats
2
: to beat a drum
3
: to throb or sound rhythmically
4
: to stir up interest : solicit
1
: to summon or enlist by or as if by beating a drum
were drummed into service
2
: to dismiss ignominiously : expel
—usually used with out
3
: to drive or force by steady effort or reiteration
drummed the speech into her head
4
a
: to strike or tap repeatedly
b
: to produce (rhythmic sounds) by such action
Synonyms
Examples of drum in a Sentence
Verb
She drummed while he played the guitar.
Her fingers drummed nervously on the table.
He was nervously drumming a pencil on the desk.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2024
Sparhawk’s mother played church organ, and his father wrote songs and played drums in a country band.
—Justin Taylor, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
Born March 13, 1927 in Los Angeles, Wallin grew up in a Van Nuys orphanage, learned to play drums, and later served as a Navy aviation radio operator during World War II.
—Jon Burlingame, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
Its price varies by location. $20 Family Meal — six pieces of chicken (two drums, two thighs, one breast and one wing), four individual sides and four biscuits.
—The Indianapolis Star, 10 Apr. 2024
His bandmates were already deeply engaged with contemporary idioms like electronica, dub, house, and drum and bass music, and with a flood of new opportunities McCaslin started experimenting with electronics on the bandstand.
—Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The first thing that cave people did was play drums and tell each other stories.
—Marcela Davison Aviles, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
Cummings recorded guitar and piano while Wilson contributed guitar, drums, banjo, and organ.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 5 Apr. 2024
The bass and drum tracks were recorded live and without a click track, something that gives the album a human feel.
—Candace Hansen, SPIN, 12 Apr. 2024
Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2024
Riley Robinson/Staff People dance to drum music on Church Street April 7, 2024, in Burlington, Vermont, as part of a city-wide celebration of Monday’s solar eclipse.
—Riley Robinson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2024
The results suggested that syncing brain waves in the beta band, which is linked with motor functions, enhanced the ability of participants to synchronize their body movements — in this case, drumming a rhythm with their fingers.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
Advertisement One of the few musicians anywhere whose credits include drumming with big band legend Lionel Hampton and free-jazz bassist William Parker, Moran formed Slavic Soul Party!
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Dec. 2023
The musician who glues the skin on his knuckles together after drumming too hard.
—Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2023
Barker was also joined by his bandmates Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge onstage and drumming away while performing in Australia.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024
Along the coast of western Australia, the waves drummed a steady beat.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2024
The chart-topping vocal star has not been able to drum for years because of debilitating health issues.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Dec. 2023
Noun
The pair linked up with White’s brother Cam (bass, producer) and their friend Pete Wheeler (drums) to form the band (White and Kendrick also fell in love and got married along the way).
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2024
Sparhawk’s mother played church organ, and his father wrote songs and played drums in a country band.
—Justin Taylor, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
Born March 13, 1927 in Los Angeles, Wallin grew up in a Van Nuys orphanage, learned to play drums, and later served as a Navy aviation radio operator during World War II.
—Jon Burlingame, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
Its price varies by location. $20 Family Meal — six pieces of chicken (two drums, two thighs, one breast and one wing), four individual sides and four biscuits.
—The Indianapolis Star, 10 Apr. 2024
His bandmates were already deeply engaged with contemporary idioms like electronica, dub, house, and drum and bass music, and with a flood of new opportunities McCaslin started experimenting with electronics on the bandstand.
—Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The first thing that cave people did was play drums and tell each other stories.
—Marcela Davison Aviles, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
Cummings recorded guitar and piano while Wilson contributed guitar, drums, banjo, and organ.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 5 Apr. 2024
The bass and drum tracks were recorded live and without a click track, something that gives the album a human feel.
—Candace Hansen, SPIN, 12 Apr. 2024
Verb
Born in Bristol, CT in 1954, LeBlanc also had a robust solo career, drumming on tracks for English producer Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound productions.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2024
Riley Robinson/Staff People dance to drum music on Church Street April 7, 2024, in Burlington, Vermont, as part of a city-wide celebration of Monday’s solar eclipse.
—Riley Robinson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2024
The results suggested that syncing brain waves in the beta band, which is linked with motor functions, enhanced the ability of participants to synchronize their body movements — in this case, drumming a rhythm with their fingers.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
Advertisement One of the few musicians anywhere whose credits include drumming with big band legend Lionel Hampton and free-jazz bassist William Parker, Moran formed Slavic Soul Party!
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Dec. 2023
The musician who glues the skin on his knuckles together after drumming too hard.
—Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2023
Barker was also joined by his bandmates Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge onstage and drumming away while performing in Australia.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024
Along the coast of western Australia, the waves drummed a steady beat.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2024
The chart-topping vocal star has not been able to drum for years because of debilitating health issues.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near drum
Cite this Entry
“Drum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drum. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
drum
1 of 2 noun1
: a musical percussion instrument consisting of a hollow cylinder with a thin layer of material (as animal skin or plastic) stretched over one or both ends that is beaten with a stick or with the hands
2
: the sound of a drum
also
: a similar sound
3
: a drum-shaped object: as
a
: a cylindrical mechanical device or part
b
: a cylindrical container
oil drums
c
: a disk-shaped ammunition container that may be attached to a firearm
drum
2 of 2 verb
drummed; drumming
1
: to beat or play on or as if on a drum
3
: to call or gather together by or as if by beating a drum
drum up business
4
: to dismiss in shame : expel
drummed out of the army
5
: to drive or force by steady effort or repetition
drummed the lesson into their heads
6
: to strike or tap repeatedly so as to produce rhythmic sounds
drummed the table with his fingers
Medical Definition
drum
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