Library / English Dictionary

DRUM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: drummed    , drumming   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Small to medium-sized bottom-dwelling food and game fishes of shallow coastal and fresh waters that make a drumming noise

Synonyms:

drum; drumfish

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("drum" is a kind of...):

sciaenid; sciaenid fish (widely distributed family of carnivorous percoid fishes having a large air bladder used to produce sound)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "drum"):

Equetus pulcher; striped drum (a kind of drumfish)

Equetus lanceolatus; jackknife-fish (black-and-white drumfish with an erect elongated dorsal fin)

Bairdiella chrysoura; mademoiselle; silver perch (small silvery drumfish often mistaken for white perch; found along coasts of United States from New York to Mexico)

channel bass; red drum; redfish; Sciaenops ocellatus (large edible fish found off coast of United States from Massachusetts to Mexico)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A hollow cast iron cylinder attached to the wheel that forms part of the brakes

Synonyms:

brake drum; drum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("drum" is a kind of...):

cylinder (a surface generated by rotating a parallel line around a fixed line)

Holonyms ("drum" is a part of...):

drum brake (hydraulic brake in which friction is applied to the inside of a spinning drum by the brake shoe)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end

Synonyms:

drum; membranophone; tympan

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("drum" is a kind of...):

percussion instrument; percussive instrument (a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by one object striking another)

Meronyms (parts of "drum"):

drumhead; head (a membrane that is stretched taut over a drum)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "drum"):

bass drum; gran casa (a large drum with two heads; makes a sound of indefinite but very low pitch)

bongo; bongo drum (a small drum; played with the hands)

side drum; snare; snare drum (a small drum with two heads and a snare stretched across the lower head)

tabor; tabour (a small drum with one head of soft calfskin)

tambour (a drum)

tambourine (a shallow drum with a single drumhead and with metallic disks in the sides)

tenor drum; tom-tom (any of various drums with small heads)

timbrel (small hand drum similar to a tambourine; formerly carried by itinerant jugglers)

Derivation:

drum (play a percussion instrument)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A cylindrical metal container used for shipping or storage of liquids

Synonyms:

drum; metal drum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("drum" is a kind of...):

vessel (an object used as a container (especially for liquids))

Sense 5

Meaning:

The sound of a drum

Example:

he could hear the drums before he heard the fifes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("drum" is a kind of...):

sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)

Derivation:

drum (play a percussion instrument)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A bulging cylindrical shape; hollow with flat ends

Synonyms:

barrel; drum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("drum" is a kind of...):

cylinder (a surface generated by rotating a parallel line around a fixed line)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Study intensively, as before an exam

Example:

I had to bone up on my Latin verbs before the final exam

Synonyms:

bone; bone up; cram; drum; get up; grind away; mug up; swot; swot up

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "drum" is one way to...):

hit the books; study (learn by reading books)

Verb group:

cram (prepare (students) hastily for an impending exam)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Play a percussion instrument

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "drum" is one way to...):

play (perform music on (a musical instrument))

Domain category:

music (musical activity (singing or whistling etc.))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

drum (a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end)

drum (the sound of a drum)

drummer (someone who plays a drum)

drumming (the act of playing drums)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make a rhythmic sound

Example:

The drums beat all night

Synonyms:

beat; drum; thrum

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "drum" is one way to...):

go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)

Verb group:

beat (indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

drummer (someone who plays a drum)

Credits

 Context examples: 

“What an old drum of a place it is!” he cried; “we’ll strike a light, Roddy, and see where we are.”

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He continually drummed his fingers on the table, gnawed his nails, and gave other signs of nervous impatience.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“You see,” said Mr. Dick, wistfully, “if I could exert myself, Mr. Traddles—if I could beat a drum—or blow anything!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The house is empty half the day, so come and drum away as much as you like, and I shall be obliged to you.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

As he spoke a roar of voices and a roll of drums came from either galley, and the water was lashed into spray by the hurried beat of a hundred oars.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The use of a rotary drum, belt, or other moving filter to purify a slurry.

(Moving Filter Filtration, NCI Thesaurus)

Blast causes pulmonary concussion and hemorrhage, laceration of other thoracic and abdominal viscera, ruptured ear drums, and minor effects in the central nevous system.

(Blast Injury, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The organs involved with detecting and processing auditory information, including the pinna, external auditory canal, ear drum, middle ear, and inner ear (including the cochlear organ).

(Auditory System, NCI Thesaurus)

Then suddenly came a low guggling, gargling sound, and a brisk drumming upon woodwork.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The scientists evaluated different chemical formulations to create a polymer solution that could be injected into the ear canal as a liquid, harden into a gel upon contacting the warm ear drum, and slowly degrade over time.

(Developing novel ear infection treatments, NIH)