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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

drum.

A percussive musical instrument spanned with a thin covering on at least one end for striking, forming an acoustic chamber; a membranophone.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈdɹʌm//ˈdɹʊm/Northern-England
  1. A percussive musical instrument spanned with a thin covering on at least one end for striking, forming an acoustic chamber; a membranophone.

    He's playing the piano and she's playing the drums!
  2. Any similar hollow, cylindrical object.

    Replace the drum unit of your printer.
  3. A barrel or large cylindrical container for liquid transport and storage.

    The restaurant ordered ketchup in 50-gallon drums.
  4. Synonym of construction barrel.

    US
  5. The encircling wall that supports a dome or cupola.

  6. Any of the cylindrical blocks that make up the shaft of a pillar.

  7. A drumfish (family Sciaenidae).

  8. A tip; a piece of information.

    Australia · slang
  9. The ear.

    obsolete · slang
Where this word comes from

Perhaps back-formation from drumslade (“drummer”), from Middle Dutch trommelslach (“drumbeat”), from trommel (“drum”) + slach (“beat”) (Dutch slag). Or perhaps borrowed directly from a continental Germanic language; compare Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), Middle Low German trumme (“drum”) et al. Compare also Middle High German trumme, trumbe (“drum”), Old High German trumba (“trumpet”). Compare Ancient Greek τῠ́μπᾰνον (tŭ́mpănon, “kettledrum”) whence Modern English timbre.

verb/ˈdɹʌm//ˈdɹʊm/Northern-England
  1. To beat a drum.

    intransitive
  2. To beat with a rapid succession of strokes.

    ambitransitive
    The ruffed grouse drums with his wings.
  3. To drill or review in an attempt to establish memorization.

    transitive
    He’s still trying to drum Spanish verb conjugations into my head.
  4. To throb, as the heart.

  5. To go about, as a drummer does, to gather recruits, to draw or secure partisans, customers, etc.; used with for.

  6. Of various animals, to make a vocalisation or mechanical sound that resembles drumming.

Where this word comes from

Perhaps back-formation from drumslade (“drummer”), from Middle Dutch trommelslach (“drumbeat”), from trommel (“drum”) + slach (“beat”) (Dutch slag). Or perhaps borrowed directly from a continental Germanic language; compare Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), Middle Low German trumme (“drum”) et al. Compare also Middle High German trumme, trumbe (“drum”), Old High German trumba (“trumpet”). Compare Ancient Greek τῠ́μπᾰνον (tŭ́mpănon, “kettledrum”) whence Modern English timbre.

noun/ˈdɹʌm//ˈdɹʊm/Northern-England
  1. A small hill or ridge of hills.

    archaic
Where this word comes from

From Irish druim, Scottish Gaelic druim (“back, ridge”).

noun/ˈdɹʌm//ˈdɹʊm/Northern-England
  1. A social gathering or assembly held in the evening.

    historical
    Another misfortune which befel poor Sophia, was the company of Lord Fellamar, whom she met at the opera, and who attended her to the drum.
  2. A person's home; a house or other building, especially when insalubrious; a tavern, a brothel.

    UK · slang
Where this word comes from

Unknown.

noun/ˈdɹʌm//ˈdɹʊm/Northern-England
  1. A drumstick (of chicken, turkey, etc).

    informal
Where this word comes from

Shortening.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.