Definition

Noun: 1. A stick used for playing a drum: A drumstick is a tool, typically a thin, solid rod, held in the hand to strike the surface of a drum to produce sound. 2. The lower joint of the leg of a cooked bird: A drumstick is the part of a poultry leg (such as from a chicken or turkey) below the thigh, often cooked and eaten.

Usage and Examples

• Meaning 1 (Musical Instrument Tool):

  • The drummer broke a drumstick during the energetic solo.
  • She practiced her rudiments with a pair of wooden drumsticks.

• Meaning 2 (Food):

  • He prefers the drumstick to the breast meat when eating chicken.
  • For dinner, we each had a turkey drumstick with roasted vegetables.

Advanced Usage

• "Drumstick" as a metaphorical shape: The term can describe any object that resembles the shape of a chicken leg or a drumstick, such as certain types of ice cream or vegetables.
  • The child was happy with a chocolate-coated drumstick ice cream cone.

Variants and Related Words

• Drumstick tree: () A tree whose long, slender seed pods are colloquially called "drumsticks" due to their shape.
• Drum major's baton: While not a drumstick, it is a related ceremonial stick used by a drum major.

Synonyms

• For the musical tool: Stick, mallet (though a mallet typically has a softer head).
• For the food part: Leg, lower leg.

Idioms and Phrases

• "Pass the drumstick": An informal phrase suggesting the sharing or serving of the poultry leg during a meal.
  • During Thanksgiving, it's tradition for the grandfather to carve and pass the drumstick to the youngest child.

Noun

1. a stick used for playing a drum
2. the lower joint of the leg of a fowl