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 slow-rolling single with skittering drum machine beats mashed against both mens’ drawling vocals is of a piece with Jelly’s frequent lyrical focus on mental health and his battles with substance use. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Jan. 2025 Perhaps that’s why Tango in the Night is the rare late ’80s blockbuster with a real human touch in its arrangements, at a time when other classic rock drummers and bassists were being sidelined in the studio by drum machines and synthesizers. Al Shipley, SPIN, 9 Jan. 2025 Kim Gordon, The Collective A 71-year-old noise-rocker reciting spoken word over drum machines might scan as avant-garde impenetrability. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024 Cox was on hand at the event to play one of his signature Hybrid Live sets, for with he both DJs and employs hardware including drum machines and synthesizers. Katie Bain, Billboard, 16 Dec. 2024 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

Dictionary Entries Near drum machine

Cite this Entry

“Drum machine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drum%20machine. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.

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