drumbeat

American

[druhm-beet] / ˈdrʌmˌbit /

noun

the rhythmic sound of a drum.

drumbeat British

/ ˈdrʌmˌbiːt /

noun

the sound made by beating a drum

"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

Etymology

Origin of drumbeat

First recorded in 1850–55; drum ¹ + beat

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Markets are about to be left without the steady drumbeat of earnings.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Even then, what she describes as the "drumbeat" of her compulsive behaviour didn't stop - she couldn't resist spending tens of thousands of pounds on an interior designer to decorate her new home.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

But the growing drumbeat of failed deals has led to redemptions by individual investors, punishing the stocks of fund managers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

By this point in his life, Beethoven has had it with weapons, the drumbeat of soldiers, the addictive emotion of trumpet calls to action.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

The pain became a drumbeat; a rhythm I could write a song to.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023