drum major

noun

: the leader of a marching band

Examples of drum major 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.
King was a drum major for justice, yet we are surrounded by injustices on a daily basis. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2026 For Aiden Delgado, Boswell Band of Gold drum major, the surge of pride caught him by surprise at the band’s first competition. — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2025 And those drum majors, their endurance, the energy, the showmanship is absolutely incredible. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 27 May 2025 Her father, a drum major at Tuskegee University, always harbored dreams of becoming a music teacher and regularly played the saxophone. — Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for drum major

Word History

First Known Use

1807, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of drum major was in 1807

Rhymes for drum major

See All Rhymes for drum major

Browse Nearby Words

drum machine
drum major
drum majorette
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Drum major.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drum%20major. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

drum major

noun
: the leader of a marching band
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All