drum machine

noun

: an electronic device that simulates the sound of drums

Examples of drum machine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The production is a rattling junk drawer of circuit-bent thrift-store keyboards, dusty drum machines, and unintuitive loops, and KTO combines them into head-scratching, shouldn’t-work grooves. — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026 At first, people used drum machines as metronomes — to keep a drummer from speeding up or slowing down and to keep everyone on the same rhythmic wavelength. — Kristin Robinson, Billboard, 30 Sep. 2026 On Days of Ash, a drum performance or two was swapped out for a drum machine. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026 Johnson frequently uses his saxophone to control a sampler or drum machine, triggering changes in loops and effects, but the technology is ultimately subordinate to physical expression. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 9 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for drum machine

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of drum machine was in 1976

Rhymes for drum machine

See All Rhymes for drum machine

Browse Nearby Words

drumlin
drum machine
drum major
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Drum machine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drum%20machine. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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