snare drum

American  

noun

• snare drums
  plural

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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snare drum British  

noun

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

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snare drum Cultural  

1. 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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• snare drums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of snare drum

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snare drum

On Everybody's Trying To Figure Me Out, she even tuned her snare drum to match the "iconic" thwack of U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday.

From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2025

The closing number, “Match-Lit,” features a moody production with a clanging snare drum and bits of pedal-steel guitar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025

The most notorious of these is the entrance of the cartoony-yet-vicious Mouse King — and an accompanying snare drum hit that can be a loud surprise even for grown-ups.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

Seven songs into the vigorous new Rolling Stones album, and there it is: the instantly identifiable thwack of Charlie Watts’ snare drum.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

Just behind the Coalwood float, the Big Creek band marched, with me proudly playing the snare drum, one of five drummers in a line.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam