drum

plural drums

1. entertainmentA 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 more examples

   In the Province of Xenſi, near the City Vucung, is a Hill called Taipe, which if a Drum be beaten upon it, preſently followeth Thunder, Lightning, and ſtormy weather, inſomuch that the Magiſtrates have forbidden all perſons upon pain of death to beat any Drum there.

   1669, John Nievhoff, “Of ſome THINGS more then NATURAL, and ſtrange POOLS.”, in John Ogilby, transl., An Embassy from the Eaſt-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China, London: John Macock, →OCLC, page 273

   The group played huge drums placed overhead, along with flutes and a kotolike zither.

   2008 January 15, Jon Pareles, “To See (and Hear) the World in Five Hours: Unique Sounds Ripe for Import”, in The New York Times

   Synonyms: skins

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. USSynonym of construction barrel.

   Synonyms: construction barrel

5. architectureThe encircling wall that supports a dome or cupola.
6. architectureAny of the cylindrical blocks that make up the shaft of a pillar.
7. A drumfish (family Sciaenidae).
8. AustraliaslangA tip; a piece of information.

   ‘he is the darndest little speaker we got, so better sit there and listen to him while he gives you the drum and if you clean out your earholes you might get a bit of sense into your heads.’

   1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 258

9. obsoleteslangboxingThe ear.

present singular third person drums · participle present drumming · participle past drummed · past drummed

1. intransitiveTo beat a drum.
2. ambitransitiveTo beat with a rapid succession of strokes.

   The ruffed grouse drums with his wings.

   1 more example

   drumming with his fingers on the arm of his chair

   1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], Tales of a Traveller, (please specify |part=1 to 4), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC

3. transitiveTo drill or review in an attempt to establish memorization.

   He’s still trying to drum Spanish verb conjugations into my head.

   1 more example

   Those long ago memories of gnawing sexuality clashing against drummed in prejudice.

   1978 December 9, Pat M. Kuras, “A Splice of Lesbian Life”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 11

4. To throb, as the heart.

   Now, heart, […]thou shalt drum no more.

   1690, [John] Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal: […], London: […] Jo. Hindmarsh, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number)

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.

   "There is the snipe drumming also. We shall have it fine!" he added, with an air of conviction.

   1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 85

plural drums

1. archaicA small hill or ridge of hills.

plural drums

1. historicalA social gathering or assembly held in the evening.First known use 18th c.

   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 more examples

   [H]e was engaged in a partie of cards, at a drum in the house of a certain lady of quality […].

   1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC

   'Ten o'clock, and you are lighted as for a drum!

   1898, Stanley John Weyman, chapter III, in The Castle Inn

2. UKslangA person's home; a house or other building, especially when insalubrious; a tavern, a brothel.First known use 19th c.

plural drums

1. informalA drumstick (of chicken, turkey, etc).

   To stir the whole, he used a chicken drum.

   2016, Astroglo DeCerveau, A Book of Good and Bad Things, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN

   5 more examples

   Add, thinly sliced, 1/2 to 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic also sliced, your choice of protein – chicken or turkey breast, or low fat beef, veal, lamb or pork, cut in pieces, or skinless chicken drums, and probably a little water. Then add 1/2 a cup of ...

   2006, Helene Andreu, Dance, movemet, and nutrition, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 138

   In a large frying pan, add some canola oil and half of the chicken drums and brown them on both sides. Repeat the procedure until all drums are browned. Place them in a medium baking pan. To the browned chicken drums, add sliced onion, ...

   2010, Nadejda Reilly, Ukrainian Cuisine with an American Touch and Ingredients, →ISBN, page 253

   3–5 pounds chicken drums and thighs, with skin Hot sauce to taste 1. In a gallon resealable plastic bag, add flour, pepper, and salt. Shake to mix. […]

   2010, Lisa Lamme, The Gypsy Kitchen: Transform Almost Nothing into Something Delicious with Not-So-Secret Ingredients, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN

   Up top, a pained expression, her eating face. My mom doesn't eat for taste, she does it to stay alive. Probably wouldn't eat if she didn't have to. I grab a new chopstick and when I get back there's a chicken drum on my plate. “Thanks, Ba,” I say.

   2016, Melanie Mah, The Sweetest One, Cormorant Books, →ISBN

   When noon came the next day, the two guards came in with a plate of […] chicken drums and pork braised in soy sauce, plus some vegetables.

   2017, Daniel Young, Stuart Barnes, Tincture Journal Issue Eighteen (Winter 2017), Tincture Journal, →ISBN

plural Drums

1. countableuncountableA surname.
2. countableuncountableA settlement (Mains of Drum) in Aberdeenshire council area, Scotland, near Drum Castle (OS grid ref NO8099).
3. countableuncountableA mountain in Conwy borough, Wales (OS grid ref SH7069).
4. countableuncountableA village in County Monaghan, Ireland.
5. countableuncountableA civil parish and townland in County Roscommon, Ireland.
6. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Bollinger County, Missouri, USA, named after the Drum family.