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snare drum
noun
: a small double-headed drum with one or more snares stretched across its lower head see drum illustration
Examples of snare drum in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As a surprise for her new husband, Strauss also ordered a custom groom's cake from Cake and Art designed to replicate Villalta's favorite snare drum.
—Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 5 May 2024
At its 1928 Carnegie Hall premiere, Gershwin’s iconic masterpiece was a spirited composition, meant to reflect the kaleidoscope of sights and sounds on the streets of Paris with instruments that include real Parisian taxi horns, a trumpet, saxophone and snare drum.
—Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2024
The sound of umbrellas being rapidly opened and shut stands in for the flapping wings of birds; the sharp report of a snare drum indicates a rifle shot.
—Chris Klimek, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024
While Metallica typically performs with a singer, two guitarists, a drummer and a bassist, Oakton’s band needed sheet music for more than a dozen marching band instruments, including trumpets, trombones, saxophones, tubas, flutes, and bass and snare drums.
—Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2024
Also, next time, someone needs to remember to disengage the snare drum, which caught some resonant and thus rattling frequencies at inopportune times.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 5 Dec. 2023
In the video, the 47-year-old musician is seen playing on a snare drum pad, next to the medical equipment and the doctor’s station.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 10 Nov. 2023
The heart of the play, though, lies in the minutiae: the coffee maker, the intricacies of a bass line, how to tune a snare drum.
—Vulture, 29 Oct. 2023
One of the distinctive qualities of your music is the snare drum sound.
—Rob Tannenbaum, New York Times, 6 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'snare drum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1859, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to snare drum
Dictionary Entries Near snare drum
Cite this Entry
“Snare drum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snare%20drum. Accessed 13 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
snare drum
noun
: a small two-headed drum that can be worn at the side while marching and that has a band of snares stretched across the lower head to rattle when the head vibrates to give the drum its special sound
More from Merriam-Webster on snare drum
Nglish: Translation of snare drum for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about snare drum
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