noun

tambourine

tam-buh-REEN

noun

A small percussion instrument made of a round frame with jingling metal discs set into its rim, played by shaking or striking it.

"She shook the tambourine in time with the chorus."

"The busker kept rhythm with a battered old tambourine."

verb

To play a tambourine, or to make a jingling sound like one.

"He tambourined along as the band played."

How to Use Tambourine

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA hand-held drum ringed with metal discs that jingle when shaken or tapped.

Common pairings

shake a tambourine play the tambourine

tambourined past tense, tambourines plural, tambourines singular

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She shook the _____ in time with the chorus.

From French tambourin ("little drum"), from tambour ("drum"), which traces back to Arabic and Persian words for a drum.

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