bass drum

noun

plural bass drums

: a large drum that has two heads and produces a booming sound of low indefinite pitch

[The Beatles'] 18-year-old engineer Geoff Emerick transformed their sound by stuffing a sweater in Ringo's bass drum.

—Rob Sheffield

Thunderous bass drums and tom-toms predominate, delivering an oscillating groove over which the composer's voice floats …

—Tom Huizenga

see drum illustration

Examples of bass drum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Norwegian fans were delightful, rowing up escalators to the rhythm of their bass drum. — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 20 July 2026

Clark suggested Cannon re-edit and overdub the recording with the stronger bass drums that would become Cannon’s trademark sound and nickname inspiration. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 July 2026

Thacker played bass drum in the University of Florida marching band and served as a section leader in 2020, helping guide fellow students through a season disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 18 June 2026

There’s a major bass drum accompanied by a major bass drumstick. — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bass drum

• become
• checksum
• humdrum
• income
• outcome
• pisum
• succumb
• therefrom
• wherefrom
• abomasum
• bum
• chum

Kids Definition

bass drum

noun

: a large drum that has two heads and that produces a booming sound