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drumstick

American  
[druhm-stik] / ˈdrʌmˌstɪk /

noun

  1. a stick for beating a drum.

  2. the meaty leg of a chicken, duck, turkey, or other fowl.

drumstick British  
/ ˈdrʌmˌstɪk /

noun

  1. a stick used for playing a drum

  2. the lower joint of the leg of a cooked fowl

"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 drumstick

First recorded in 1580–90; drum 1 + stick 1

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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.

Much like that final drumstick you probably shouldn’t have eaten, equities spent last week digesting their gains.

From Barron's • Dec. 7, 2025

You’ll be equal parts annoyed and delighted at its existence, while giving full kudos to the production design team that fashioned a Picasso-esque drumstick for Black to wave around.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2025

The researchers found that in birds, the tibial joint surfaces have curved arcs, and the shortened fibula is able to roll within the bird's drumstick for about its length relative to the tibia.

From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2024

Cut to a close-up of a happy wife biting into a drumstick.

From New York Times • Nov. 29, 2023

Wilson's drumstick came down in a mound of cranberry sauce.

From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.