snare drum


noun
  1. a small double-headed drum, carried at the side or placed on a stationary stand, having snares across the lower head to produce a rattling or reverberating effect.

Origin of snare drum

1
First recorded in 1870–75

Words Nearby snare drum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use snare drum in a sentence

  • Beagle brought into the country an old snare drum, which gave out a very crazy sound.

  • "I mustn't look at the new moon through a knot hole and I must beware of the flute and the snare drum," said Mr. Biggs.

    A Man for the Ages | Irving Bacheller

British Dictionary definitions for snare drum

snare drum

noun
  1. music a cylindrical drum with two drumheads, the upper of which is struck and the lower fitted with a snare: See snare 2

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for snare drum

snare drum

A shallow cylindrical drum, with wires or pieces of catgut (snares) stretched across the bottom skin to give a sharp, rattling sound when the top skin is struck. Snare drums are used in orchestras and in nearly all kinds of bands.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.