drumhead

[druhm-hed]

noun

1. the membrane stretched upon a drum.

2. the top part of a capstan.

adjective

1. characteristic of a drumhead court-martial; carried out in summary fashion.

   a drumhead execution.

drumhead

/ ˈdrʌmˌhɛd /

noun

1. music the part of a drum that is actually struck with a stick or the hand

2. the head of a capstan, pierced with holes for the capstan bars

3. another name for eardrum

Word History and Origins

Origin of drumhead¹

First recorded in 1615–25; drum ¹ + head

Example Sentences

"If you take a video of a drum and watch how it vibrates in slow motion, you can work out the drumhead's shape and stiffness from the vibrational modes," Burns says.

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Instead of vibrating when hit by a wave of pressure like a stick hitting a drumhead, they move with the flow of the air being displaced.

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The halal chicken, first poached and then finished in a pan until its skin is as taunt as a drumhead, made me realize how many truly tasteless birds I have eaten.

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Imitating this sound on a small gong or drumhead will approximate the type of play with timbre that is required.

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And, now, so is the UK's number one single, finally to hit the top almost four decades after he tightened the drumheads on what would come to be known as The Cloudbuster.

Read more on BBC