noun
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a stick used for playing a drum
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the lower joint of the leg of a cooked fowl
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of drumstick
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How does drumstick compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Vocabulary lists containing drumstick
Musical Instruments - Introductory
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Musical Instruments - Middle School
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Musical Instruments - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
Much like that final drumstick you probably shouldn’t have eaten, equities spent last week digesting their gains.
From Barron's ● Dec. 7, 2025
"Under the meat of a drumstick, you'll find two bones -- the tibia, which is long and thick, and the fibula, which is much shorter and thinner," Manafzadeh explained.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2024
Some 75.3 million years ago, a dinosaur swallowed the Cretaceous equivalent of a turkey drumstick.
From New York Times ● Dec. 8, 2023
After that, Hernandez said, he snatched a drumstick out of her hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2023
Two drumstick tips poke out of an enormous pot of boiling water.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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A liter of milk costs 1,600 pesos, she said, and one small package of chicken drumsticks is 2,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
"We used five loaves of bread, chicken drumsticks, pasta, apples, crackers - anything we could get our hands on for them to eat," Ridgeon said.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
“Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth, appearing alongside his wife, is asked whether he prefers drumsticks, flats, or boneless wings.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2025
If dark meat is your preference, turkey thighs and drumsticks are an option.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2024
It pinged on the shed’s tin roof like someone was beating on it with drumsticks.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
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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.