drum

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Jonaique Jelly played the clarionet, and John the Widow played the trombone, but the drum was the leading instrument.

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Definitions (77)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (16)

  1. noun A percussion instrument consisting of a hollow cylinder or hemisphere with a membrane stretched tightly over one or both ends, played by beating with the hands or sticks.
  2. noun A sound produced by this instrument.
  3. noun Something resembling a drum in shape or structure, especially a barrellike metal container or a metal cylinder wound with cable, wire, or heavy rope.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (49)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (9)

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Examples (50)

 

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Words tagged drum

tympan · rototom · rommelpot · pakhawaj · pahu · ngoma · nagara · tambora · madal · lambeg · goombay

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This word has been looked up 135 times.

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Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

trumpet ·  bell ·  horn ·  thunder ·  pipe ·  wheel ·  cylinder ·  cannon ·  barrel ·  flute ·  container ·  tank

Used in the same contextWord Family

drum:   drums ·  drummed ·  drumming

Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English drom, probably alteration of Middle Dutch tromme, probably of imitative origin.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (3)

  1. Early modern English also drumme; = Danish tromme = Swedish trumma (cf. Irish Gaelic druma, from English), a drum, from Dutch trom = Low German trumme = German tromme, dial, trumme, trumm, tromm, dromm, late Middle High German trumme, trumbe, drumbe, drumme, trum, a drum (also in diminutive form: Danish tromle = Swedish trumla, from Dutch trommel = German trommel, formerly also drummel, Middle High German trummel, trumpel, drompel, trumel, a drum); orig. identical with Middle High German trumme, trumbe, from Old High German trumba, trumpa, a trump, trumpet: see trump and trumpet. It thus appears that drum and trump are ult. identical, though applied to unlike instruments. The diverse use is prob. due to the (supposed) imitative origin of the name. See drum, v
  2. = Dutch trommen =Danish tromme = Swedish trumma, drum; also freq. English drumble, q. v.; from the noun, but felt to be in part imitative. See drum, n., and cf. thrum.
  3. from Irish and Gaelic druim, also druman, the back, a ridge, summit.
 

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/drəm/
by American Heritage

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Der dicke Dachdecker deckte dir dein Dach, drum dank dem dicken Dachdecker, dass der dicke Dachdecker dir dein Dach deckte. · weitläufig · und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, so leben sie noch heute · redescheu · selbstverständlich