drumroll

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #11,822 of 15,258mostly spoken

A drumroll is a rapid rumble of drums before a big moment. It builds, and then something is announced.

The technique is real, since a roll is played with rapid alternating strokes to make a continuous sound, and it takes years to do well. Its cultural job is anticipation, which is why circuses, awards ceremonies and executions have all used one. The phrase drumroll please is now said out loud where no drums exist, purely to signal that a reveal is coming, and it is very often ironic.

Definitions of drumroll

1noundrumrollA rapid continuous sound made on a drum, used to build anticipation.B2+
“There was a drumroll before the winner was named.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, Circus & Fairground

First appears in chapter 7 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

drumroll in the wild

After a short chorded passage, the swirling Waltz 1A recurs and Strauss signs off the waltz with a strong chord and long snare-drumroll.
Cagliostro-Walzer
The first waltz theme was played again at the end before a furious section rounds off the work with a strong chord and drumroll.
Feenmärchen waltz
Without halting nor slowing down for a moment, the first waltz theme makes a re-entry, before rising chords heralds its close, complete with a snare-drumroll and brass flourish.
Karnevalsbotschafter
The coda recalls earlier waltz sections, rounded up by the re-entry of the first waltz section and a spirited close with a snare drumroll and regular brass flourish.
Flugschriften
As a drumroll closes out the song, the band utilizes feedback and improvisation in an extended noisy outro slowly quieting as the band members leave the stage.
East Hastings (composition)

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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