strum

¹ American  

[struhm] / strʌm /

verb (used with object)

• strums,
  present (3rd person singular)
• strummed,
  past participle,  past
• strumming
  present participle

1. to play on (a stringed musical instrument) by running the fingers lightly across the strings.

2. to produce (notes, a melody, etc.) by such playing.

   to strum a tune.

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verb (used without object)

• strums,
  present (3rd person singular)
• strummed,
  past participle,  past
• strumming
  present participle

1. to play on a stringed musical instrument by running the fingers lightly across the strings.

noun

1. the act of strumming.

2. the sound produced by strumming.

strum ² American  

[struhm] / strʌm /

noun

1. a strainer, as at the inlet of a system of tubing.

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strum British  

/ strʌm /

verb

1. to sound (the strings of a guitar, banjo, etc) with a downward or upward sweep of the thumb or of a plectrum

2. to play (chords, a tune, etc) in this way

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• strummer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• strumming
  present
• strummed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• strum
  simple
• strums
  simple
• have strummed
  perfect
• has strummed
  perfect
• am strumming
  progressive
• are strumming
  progressive
• is strumming
  progressive
• have been strumming
  perfect progressive
• has been strumming
  perfect progressive

Past

• strummed
  simple
• had strummed
  perfect
• was strumming
  progressive
• were strumming
  progressive
• had been strumming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will strum
  simple
• will have strummed
  perfect
• will be strumming
  progressive
• will have been strumming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of strum¹

1765–75; perhaps blend of string and thrum ¹

Origin of strum²

Origin uncertain

Explanation

To strum is to play a guitar or another stringed instrument by brushing the strings with your fingers. It's pretty easy to strum a ukulele, but it sounds better if you know some chords. You might tell the guitar player in your band, "Strum a few chords of that song we wrote yesterday." You can also strum idly on your sister's banjo without playing actual chords, just by running your thumb down the strings. Strum is a noun, too, meaning "the sound or act of strumming." This word dates from the 18th century, and experts think it's imitative, sounding a bit like an actual strum.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

strum strums strummed strumming

She looked so at ease, and she was, cracking jokes with the moms in her native language and letting the kids strum on her guitar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024

And because the musicians play so precisely onstage — each strum in place, each groove just right — the songs differed little from the versions permanently stored in your head.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2024

Worries escalated as this new cohort of generative AI tools threatened the livelihoods of people who write, draw, strum or code for a living.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

She doesn’t want a rupture; as the production ascends from a modest folk-rock strum to a big harmony chorus, she only hopes honesty will clear the air, so “I can love you better.”

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

Then I strum a few notes on the guitar and realize I’ve forgotten some of the words of the song that Abuela taught me.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

But here at least you could detect a distinct L.A. presence in Emily Green’s John Frusciante-coded strums and in the doomed-heartthrob proclamations that made Winter sound a little like Jim Morrison.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025

Except that there aren’t any Ed Sheeran things like this: a single, unbroken camera shot of the ginger-haired English songwriter as he walks, runs, sings and strums his way around New York.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025

“KPop Demon Hunters” strums some the same chords in a more innocent key, swapping in a K-pop trio for Delta blues masters.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2025

“It’s a lot of talking going on while I sing my song,” she observes in “Ameriican Requiem” over guitar strums and electric sitar, adding, “It’s a lot of chatter in here.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2024

She sits looking out to the sea and strums the oud lightly as if it were fragile.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

We hear a Fender Rhodes piano, strummed electric guitar and a spare trumpet, conjuring images of a late night in a smoky club.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026

Instead, a good 50% of the tracks retreat to safer ground - slowly strummed songs of devotion, packed with valentine card sentiments.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025

Chalamet abandoned the Bob Dylan impression heard in the film but still strummed away at the guitar.

From Salon ● Jan. 28, 2025

“I’m poisoned, and I don’t feel well,” he murmurs against a strummed acoustic guitar, the quiet confessions of one tough talker bringing a bleak kind of comfort to another.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2024

Yet the tune Apollo strummed was so melancholy it broke Leo’s feels.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

It shows relatives outside a cabin, including her grandfather—a movie-star-handsome man strumming a guitar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

In the opening track “Lugares,” Selines meets her acoustic guitar strumming with a velvety croon, singing of leaping into the unknown — despite understanding the difficulties that will come from leaving home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

As they shot the breeze, McCartney started strumming.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

Women wearing long wigs and ornate traditional dresses milled around a pebbled courtyard, stopping to snap photos under a pavilion, as the melodious strumming of the Chinese zither played in the background.

From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025

And now the girl was standing, slinging her bag over one shoulder and marching among the tables, strumming and singing and strutting and twirling.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli