1 [count] : a musical instrument that is made with a thin layer of skin or plastic stretched over the end of a round frame and that is played by hitting the skin or plastic with sticks or with your hands
▪ a child beating on a drum ▪ We heard the rhythmic beating of drums. ▪ She plays the drums. ▪ That was Miles Davis on trumpet and Max Roach on drums. [=playing the drums] — see also kettledrum, snare drum, steel drum 2 [noncount] : the sound that is made when something hits a surface over and over again
▪ He lay listening to the steady drum of the rain on the roof. 3 [count] a : a large usually metal container for liquids
▪ oil drums ▪ a 55-gallon drum
b : a machine or part of a machine that is shaped like a cylinder
▪ the drum of a clothes dryer