drum kit

noun

variants or less commonly drum set

plural drum kits also drum sets

: a set of percussion instruments that is played by one person and that includes drums and cymbals and sometimes additional pieces (such as cow bells and tambourines) along with hardware (such as stands and pedals) and a seat for the drummer

His drum kit, perched upon a hydraulic lift, soared twenty feet in the air as he pounded the skins with reckless abandon.

—Jim Ryan

… had a 25-piece drum kit in his battered truck.

—Mitchell Fink

… a standard four-piece drum set provided the rhythmic anchor.

—Tim Simmons

Examples of drum kit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Even Don Henley, who emerged from behind his drum kit to welcome the audience early in the night, caught flak. —Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2026

Set done, Allan and his bass player leave the stage and make a speedy exit from the room, but Gary Husband lingers behind, fiddling around with his drum kit, tightening cymbals, testing the hi-hat, adding treble to his bass drum, making adjustments to the positioning of the tom toms. —Literary Hub, 9 Mar. 2026

Teddy bears and textbooks, camping gear stacked against her husband’s drum kit, a jumble of whisks and frying pans catching the morning sun. —Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 7 Mar. 2026

Within our apartment’s small, semi-subterranean living room, my roommates and I set up a drum kit and a couple of guitar amps, and opened our doors to friends, neighbors, and strangers alike. —Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for drum kit

• acquit
• admit
• amrit
• armpit
• backlit
• befit
• cockpit
• commit
• dalit
• dendrite
• emit
• illite