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
Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 23 Apr. 2024
The New Orleans quartet’s songs were constantly shifting in surprising ways — spiky guitar shifts, jittery math rock drums, droning mile a minute spoken word.
—Journal Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2024
After a few minutes, officers with the New York Police Department told the group not to bang the drum.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
The quintet is rounded out with Ben Harris (bass), Johnny Hutchinson (drums), and Morgan Wallace (keys/saxophone).
—Ryan Leas, SPIN, 22 Apr. 2024
Aquarius is a quirky, innovative air sign that marches to the beat of its own drum.
—Katie Mannion, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
The endless attempts to get the right sound for the drums wring humor out of the tedium and exhaustion of the artistic process.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 20 Apr. 2024
But Thaddeus’ family, like any long-standing American family, give us portrait of a nation without the fife and drum—instead realistic, confusing, confused, heedless, halting, and quietly wild.
—John Kaag, TIME, 19 Apr. 2024
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
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
Trending on Billboard Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), drops in on the second verse of the song that bounces along on a video game-like bed of synths and drums.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 23 Apr. 2024
The New Orleans quartet’s songs were constantly shifting in surprising ways — spiky guitar shifts, jittery math rock drums, droning mile a minute spoken word.
—Journal Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2024
After a few minutes, officers with the New York Police Department told the group not to bang the drum.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
The quintet is rounded out with Ben Harris (bass), Johnny Hutchinson (drums), and Morgan Wallace (keys/saxophone).
—Ryan Leas, SPIN, 22 Apr. 2024
Aquarius is a quirky, innovative air sign that marches to the beat of its own drum.
—Katie Mannion, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
The endless attempts to get the right sound for the drums wring humor out of the tedium and exhaustion of the artistic process.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 20 Apr. 2024
But Thaddeus’ family, like any long-standing American family, give us portrait of a nation without the fife and drum—instead realistic, confusing, confused, heedless, halting, and quietly wild.
—John Kaag, TIME, 19 Apr. 2024
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
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 27 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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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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