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snare drum

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noun
  1. a small double-headed drum, carried at the side or placed on a stationary stand, having snares across the lower head to produce a rattling or reverberating effect.
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Origin of snare drum

First recorded in 1870–75
Also called side drum.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for snare drum

Historical Examples

  • The beat of his heels and toes pleased you like a snare-drum obligato.

    Rolling Stones

    O. Henry

  • I bought one the other day as big as a snare-drum, and the thing never made a dent.

    The Wall Street Girl

    Frederick Orin Bartlett

  • Skulking, throat swollen with fear, heart beating like a snare-drum, Kirkwood took his chance.

    The Black Bag

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • And the young man ran the thing over his tongue like a treble drag on a snare-drum.

  • Yes,” grumbled Hank, disjointedly, “but the snare-drum solo my teeth are doing may make noise enough to give me away.

British Dictionary definitions for snare drum

snare drum

noun
  1. music a cylindrical drum with two drumheads, the upper of which is struck and the lower fitted with a snareSee snare 2
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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
snare drum in Culture

snare drum

A shallow cylindrical drum, with wires or pieces of catgut (snares) stretched across the bottom skin to give a sharp, rattling sound when the top skin is struck. Snare drums are used in orchestras and in nearly all kinds of bands.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.