Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

drum up

verb

Definition of drum up

  1. transitive verb

  2. 1 :  to bring about by persistent effort drum up some business

  3. 2 :  invent, originate drum up a new method

Explore M-W

peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
Where in the World? A Quiz
alt-592453dea3986
Read on to Become Part of the Dictionary 'Illuminati'
decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
perfect-storm
Stormy Weather

Examples of drum up in a sentence

  1. anyone who drums up a better way of doing this tedious task will make a fortune

1830

First Known Use of drum up

1830

drum up Synonyms

Synonyms
concoct, construct, contrive, cook (up), devise, invent, excogitate, fabricate, make up, manufacture, think (up), trump up, vamp (up)
Related Words
coin, design, hatch, produce; daydream, dream, fantasize; conceive, envisage, envision, imagine, picture, vision, visualize; ad-lib, extemporize, improvise
Near Antonyms
clone, copy, copycat, duplicate, imitate, mimic, reduplicate, replicate, reproduce

Learn More about drum up

  1. See words that rhyme with drum up Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for drum up

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up drum up? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

malleable

play

capable of being altered or controlled

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. suborn "to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing"

  2. nutjob 'a mentally unbalanced person'

  3. collusion 'Secret cooperation for an illegal or dishonest purpose'

  4. counsel Is it 'council' or 'counsel'?

  5. witch hunt Lookups spiked after Trump used the word in a tweet

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

drum up

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
  • What language does pajama come from?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-592453dea3986
Read on to Become Part of the Dictionary 'Illuminati'

Secrets will be revealed.

alt-592333459542f
How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

"I bow to you"

boulton-and-park
Notes on 'Campy'

Plus: how to use n'importe in a sentence

sin
What is 'Sin'?

It's striking how little this word has changed

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
Where in the World? A Quiz

Do you know what languages these words come from?

Take the quiz
wide-eyed-dog-smelling-rose
What's that Smell?! Quiz

Words for odors and such...

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game
Examples: drum up in a sentence