drum major

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noun

the marching leader of a drum corps or a band.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of drum major

First recorded in 1590–1600

Words nearby drum major

drum kit, drumlin, drumly, drum machine, drum magazine, drum major, drum majorette, drummer, drummock, Drummond, Drummond light

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use drum major in a sentence

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice.
Ebenezer Baptist: MLK’s church makes new history with Warnock victory|DeNeen L. Brown|January 6, 2021|Washington Post
Champion shared the same dream of becoming a drum major at FAMU, and after trying out for the band twice he was invited to join.
FAMU ‘Marching 100’ Case Raises Veil on Secret Hazing Rituals|Allison Samuels|May 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He secured the role of drum major in his high school marching band and got accepted to Florida A&M in 2005.
FAMU ‘Marching 100’ Case Raises Veil on Secret Hazing Rituals|Allison Samuels|May 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The speech made by the Drum-Major of Sedition has a strong ironical tendency.
Rowlandson the Caricaturist. First Volume|Joseph Grego

Without facing about, each captain or special unit commander, except the drum major, commands: 1.
Infantry Drill Regulations, United States Army, 1911|United States War Department
The drum major conducts the band to a position 30 paces in rear of the column, if not already there, and opens ranks.
Infantry Drill Regulations, United States Army, 1911|United States War Department
The field music sounds the march, flourishes, or ruffles, and to the color at the signal of the drum major.
Infantry Drill Regulations, United States Army, 1911|United States War Department
A second immediately followed, carrying away a few bayonets and the drum-major's cane.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 373, November 1846|Various

British Dictionary definitions for drum major

drum major

noun

the noncommissioned officer, usually of warrant officer's rank, who is appointed to command the corps of drums of a military band and who is in command of both the drums and the band when paraded together

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