a musical percussion instrument consisting of a hollow, usually cylindrical, body covered at one or both ends with a tightly stretched membrane, or head, which is struck with the hand, a stick, or a pair of sticks, and typically produces a booming, tapping, or hollow sound.
2.
any hollow tree or similar object or device used in this way.
3.
the sound produced by such an instrument, object, or device.
4.
any rumbling or deep booming sound.
5.
a natural organ by which an animal produces a loud or bass sound.
Archaic. an assembly of fashionable people at a private house in the evening.
14.
a person who plays the drum.
15.
AustralianInformal. reliable, confidential, or profitable information: to give someone the drum.
–verb (used without object)
16.
to beat or play a drum.
17.
to beat on anything rhythmically, esp. to tap one's fingers rhythmically on a hard surface.
18.
to make a sound like that of a drum; resound.
19.
(of ruffed grouse and other birds) to produce a sound resembling drumming.
–verb (used with object)
20.
to beat (a drum) rhythmically; perform by beating a drum: to drum a rhythm for dancers.
21.
to call or summon by, or as if by, beating a drum.
22.
to drive or force by persistent repetition: to drum an idea into someone.
23.
to fill a drum with; store in a drum: to drum contaminated water and dispose of it.
—Verb phrases
24.
drum out,
a.
(formerly) to expel or dismiss from a military service in disgrace to the beat of a drum.
b.
to dismiss in disgrace: He was drummed out of the university for his gambling activities.
25.
drum up,
a.
to call or summon by, or as if by, beating a drum.
b.
to obtain or create (customers, trade, interest, etc.) through vigorous effort: They were unable to drum up enthusiasm for the new policies.
c.
to concoct; devise: to drum up new methods of dealing with urban crime.
—Idiom
26.
beat the drum, to promote, publicize, or advertise: The boss is out beating the drum for a new product.
[Origin: 1535–45; back formation from drumslade drum, drummer, alter. of D or LG trommelslag drumbeat, equiv. to trommel drum + slag beat (akin to slagen to beat; c. slay)]
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.
A sound produced by this instrument.
A circular or polygonal wall supporting a dome or cupola. Also called tambour.
Any of the cylindrical stone blocks that are stacked to form the shaft of a column.
Something resembling a drum in shape or structure, especially a barrellike metal container or a metal cylinder wound with cable, wire, or heavy rope.
Architecture
A circular or polygonal wall supporting a dome or cupola. Also called tambour.
Any of the cylindrical stone blocks that are stacked to form the shaft of a column.
Any of various marine and freshwater fishes of the family Sciaenidae that make a drumming sound.
Anatomy The eardrum.
v.
drummed, drum·ming, drums
v.
intr.
To play a drum or drums.
To thump or tap rhythmically or continually: nervously drummed on the table.
To produce a booming, reverberating sound by beating the wings, as certain birds do.
v.
tr.
To perform (a piece or tune) on or as if on a drum.
To summon by or as if by beating a drum.
To make known to or force upon (a person) by constant repetition: drummed the answers into my head.
To expel or dismiss in disgrace. Often used with out:was drummed out of the army.
Phrasal Verb(s): drum up
To bring about by continuous, persistent effort: drum up new business.
To devise; invent: drummed up an alibi.
[Middle English drom, probably alteration of Middle Dutch tromme, probably of imitative origin.]
1420s, from M.Du. tromme "drum," probably of imitative origin. Not common before 1575. To drum up (business, etc.) is Amer.Eng. 1839, from the old way of drawing a crowd. Drumstick is from 1589; applied to the lower joint of cooked fowl 1764.
drum Ancient slow, cylindrical magnetic media that were once state-of-the-art storage devices. Under BSDUnix the disk partition used for swapping is still called "/dev/drum"; this has led to considerable humour and not a few straight-faced but utterly bogus "explanations" getting foisted on newbies. See also "The Story of Mel". (1994-12-22)
Fort Drum, NY (CDP, FIPS 26759) Location: 44.05341 N, 75.77379 W Population (1990): 11578 (2277 housing units) Area: 40.7 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 13602, 13603
Croak"er\ (-?r), n. 1. One who croaks, murmurs, grumbles, or complains unreasonably; one who habitually forebodes evil. 2. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A small American fish (Micropogon undulatus), of the Atlantic coast. (a) An American fresh-water fish (Aplodinotus grunniens); -- called also drum. (c) The surf fish of California. Note: When caught these fishes make a croaking sound; whence the name, which is often corrupted into crocus.
Drum\, n. [Cf. D. trom, trommel, LG. trumme, G. trommel, Dan. tromme, Sw. trumma, OHG. trumba a trumpet, Icel. pruma a clap of thunder, and as a verb, to thunder, Dan. drum a booming sound, drumme to boom; prob. partly at least of imitative origin; perh. akin to E. trum, or trumpet.]1. (Mus.) An instrument of percussion, consisting either of a hollow cylinder, over each end of which is stretched a piece of skin or vellum, to be beaten with a stick; or of a metallic hemisphere (kettledrum) with a single piece of skin to be so beaten; the common instrument for marking time in martial music; one of the pair of tympani in an orchestra, or cavalry band. The drums cry bud-a-dub. --Gascoigne. 2. Anything resembling a drum in form; as: (a) A sheet iron radiator, often in the shape of a drum, for warming an apartment by means of heat received from a stovepipe, or a cylindrical receiver for steam, etc. (b) A small cylindrical box in which figs, etc., are packed. (c) (Anat.) The tympanum of the ear; -- often, but incorrectly, applied to the tympanic membrane. (d) (Arch.) One of the cylindrical, or nearly cylindrical, blocks, of which the shaft of a column is composed; also, a vertical wall, whether circular or polygonal in plan, carrying a cupola or dome. (e) (Mach.) A cylinder on a revolving shaft, generally for the purpose of driving several pulleys, by means of belts or straps passing around its periphery; also, the barrel of a hoisting machine, on which the rope or chain is wound. 3. (Zo["o]l.) See Drumfish. 4. A noisy, tumultuous assembly of fashionable people at a private house; a rout. [Archaic] Not unaptly styled a drum, from the noise and emptiness of the entertainment. --Smollett. Note: There were also drum major, rout, tempest, and hurricane, differing only in degrees of multitude and uproar, as the significant name of each declares. 5. A tea party; a kettledrum. --G. Eliot. Bass drum. See in the Vocabulary. Double drum. See under Double.
Drum\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drummed; p. pr. & vb. n. Drumming.]1. To beat a drum with sticks; to beat or play a tune on a drum. 2. To beat with the fingers, as with drumsticks; to beat with a rapid succession of strokes; to make a noise like that of a beaten drum; as, the ruffed grouse drums with his wings. Drumming with his fingers on the arm of his chair. --W. Irving. 3. To throb, as the heart. [R.] --Dryden. 4. To go about, as a drummer does, to gather recruits, to draw or secure partisans, customers, etc,; -- with for.
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Audio Help [druhm] Pronunciation Key noun, plural drums, (esp. collectively for 11) drum, verb, drummed, drum·ming. 
