Thesaurus results for DRUMS

drums 1 of 2

noun

plural of drum

as in barrels

a metal container in the shape of a cylinder an oil drum

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drums

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of drum

as in taps

to strike or cause to strike lightly and usually rhythmically absentmindedly drumming his fingers on the table

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of drums

Noun

My solo album from a few years prior, Tomcats Screaming Outside, was very dark and influenced by what was going on in Bristol — drums, bass, and inspired by Massive Attack and Portishead. — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 19 Aug. 2026 Beard replaced Dan Mitchell on the drums in ZZ Top in 1969 and helped recruit Hill from American Blues. — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026 Dopamine Chamber incorporates cold synthesizers, marching drums, samples and triggers, with several songs containing no guitars at all. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 18 Aug. 2026 The quakes hit as La Guaira was marking the feast of San Juan, an annual celebration featuring the ritual beating of drums. — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 Nearly all their songs feature two guitars, a bass, and drums. — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2026 Engineers installed continuous surveillance cameras on key machinery, including the primary feed channels and rotating filter drums. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026 Readily available stem separators automatically split a complete song into vocals, instruments, bass, and drums, commenters noted. — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026 My own favorite album is Huntington Ashram Monastery—split equally between piano and harp, with the note-perfect complement of Ron Carter’s hypnotic double bass and Rashied Ali’s hypersensitive drums. — Ian Penman, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

Verb

The franchise’s iconic theme song is starting to play, the loud warrior drums about to give way to that ubiquitous melody. — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2026 Krieger and Densmore, the two surviving members of The Doors, are the backbone of the video, revisiting the signature guitar and drums parts more than a half-century after they were originally laid to wax. — Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026 Instead of another room with a priest and young woman growling on the bed, the exorcisms in The Wailing are accompanied by chanting crowds, firepits, and drums beating as a great spectacle is made of the ritual. — Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025 The video cuts to Camila, who reads the report outloud as Matthew drums on the bongo and offers his commentary on the report. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025 Some of the pressure on federal lawmakers is also shifting to state-level leaders to fill the gaps as the shutdown drums on. — Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025 These cues told the robot which drums to strike and when. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drums

Noun

David Wech, chief economist at energy intelligence firm Vortexa, told CNBC on Friday that the average over the last month has been 6 million-7 million barrels a day.

— Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026
Middle Eastern oil producers have rerouted another 2 million barrels per day around the Strait of Hormuz.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026