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🥁 Rapid drumbeats ⏩ Quick series 🥁 To play drumbeats
drumroll

drumroll

3 3.3
A fast series of drum beats to build excitement before an announcement
  • noun
  • /ˈdrʌmˌroʊl/
translation icon : redoble
  • It is time now—drumroll, trumpets, etc.—to announce the winners of the 2012 Eater Awards.
  • drumroll, please

Examples

  • "That's what the tribunal is trying to establish," said Bel, as thunderous drumrolls sounded through the court, signaling the formal start of proceedings.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • "Shall we have a drumroll, shall we blow the trumpet, and pipe a ditty on the flute?" Marion teases—she is heading home, or as close to home as she can get.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • In the middle of the party, there was a drumroll.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • We are going to pick a winner and that winner is drumroll, please, a vlog.

  • "He paused as though waiting for a drumroll."

    Fiction book (1991)

  • And a drumroll, please.

    Cats (2019)

  • All of a sudden, there's a blackout and a drumroll.

    Behind the Burly Q (2010)

  • A drumroll and a flourish of atonal trumpets...

    Fiction book (1996)

  • As I walked away, I heard Mrs. Schwartz's stilettos clicking over the floor behind me, building in rhythm like a drumroll, chasing me out the door and to my car in the student parking lot.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Before revealing the winner of the contest, the host asked for a drumroll to heighten the suspense.

Synonyms

roll
vsdrumroll
218 2.7

A long deep sound from drums or thunder

is narrower referring to rapid beats that create excitement before events
drum roll
vsdrumroll
8 3.1

A quick, continuous beat on a drum that builds suspense before an important moment

has identical meaning but is written as one word
drumbeat
vsdrumroll
4 1.6

A repeated sound made by hitting a drum

is specific to rapid beats used to build suspense before announcements

How Long

drumroll
3 3.3
drumbeat
4 1.6

Surface Forms

drumroll singular
drumrolls plural

Morphology

drumroll = drum + roll (transparent) = drum + roll

Direct compound of 'drum' + 'roll' meaning a series of drum beats; the components and resulting meaning are obvious.

Etymology

Drumroll comes from the simple parts drum + roll, where a 'roll' is a fast, continuous sound that seems to move like a wheel. So, a drumroll is a quick series of drumbeats that builds excitement.