English Dictionary |
DRUMBEAT
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Dictionary entry overview: What does drumbeat mean?
• DRUMBEAT (noun)
The noun DRUMBEAT has 3 senses:
1. the sound made by beating a drum
2. (military) the beating of a drum as a signal for lowering the flag at sundown
3. a vehement and vociferous advocacy of a cause
Familiarity information: DRUMBEAT used as a noun is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
The sound made by beating a drum
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Synonyms:
Hypernyms ("drumbeat" is a kind of...):
sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(military) the beating of a drum as a signal for lowering the flag at sundown
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("drumbeat" is a kind of...):
sign; signal; signaling (any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message)
Domain category:
armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "drumbeat"):
tattoo (a drumbeat or bugle call that signals the military to return to their quarters)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A vehement and vociferous advocacy of a cause
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Context example:
the warmongers kept up their drumbeat on Iraq
Hypernyms ("drumbeat" is a kind of...):
advocacy; protagonism (active support of an idea or cause etc.; especially the act of pleading or arguing for something)
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