tambourine
Syllables: tam·bour·ine/ˌtæm.bəˈɹiːn/
tambourine noun: a percussion instrument consisting of a small, usually wooden, hoop closed on one side with a drum frame and featuring jingling metal disks on the tread; it is most often held in the hand and shaken rhythmically; by extension, any frame drum.
Noun
tambourine (plural tambourines)
- A percussion instrument consisting of a small, usually wooden, hoop closed on one side with a drum frame and featuring jingling metal disks on the tread; it is most often held in the hand and shaken rhythmically; by extension, any frame drum.
- A tambourine dove (Turtur tympanistria).
- Tambourines are shy birds and do not tame easily.2006, Gayle Soucek, Doves, page 78
- A kind of Provençal dance.
- The music for this dance.
Verb
tambourine (third-person singular simple present tambourines, present participle tambourining, simple past and past participle tambourined)
- To play the tambourine.
- To make a sound like a tambourine.
- Rain tambourined on the stately square.1995, Henri Cole, The Look of Things, page 23
tambourine meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Malayalam
tambourine in Hindi
- percussion instrument
- डफली ḍaphlī, डफ ḍaph, डफला ḍaphlā, ढप ḍhap, ढपला ḍhaplā, दफला daphlā
tambourine in Tamil
- கஞ்சிரா
tambourine in Urdu
- percussion instrument
- ڈَپھ ḍaph, ڈَھپ ḍhap
tambourine in Malayalam
- tambourine
- മദ്ദളം maddaḷaṁ
More languagesFewer languages
- tambourine in Tagalog
- panderetas
- tambourine in Arabic
- دَفّ daff
- tambourine in Malay
- tamborin
- tambourine in Persian
- دایره زنگی dâyere-zangi, شندف šandaf, دَفّ
Examples of tambourine in a sentence
- Back-formations, such as tambour (for “play the tambourine”), are a staple of comedic wordplay.
- Her tambourine didn't come with any jingles attached.
- Branch held her pinging watch alarm up to the microphones, kicked her floor tambourine, and the band collectively developed a dronescape.
Forms of tambourine
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | tambourines |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | tambourines |
| present participle | tambourining |
| past participle | tambourined |
| past | tambourined |
Origin of tambourine
From French tambourin (“little drum”), from French tambour (“drum”). Ultimately from Arabic طُنْبُور (ṭunbūr); see it and Persian تنبور for more.
Words formed from tambourine
Phrases with tambourine
Questions about tambourine
- What does tambourine mean?
- Tambourine means a percussion instrument consisting of a small, usually wooden, hoop closed on one side with a drum frame and featuring jingling metal disks on the tread; it is most often held in the hand and shaken rhythmically; by extension, any frame drum.
- What is tambourine in Hindi?
- Tambourine in Hindi is डफली (ḍaphlī), डफ (ḍaph), डफला (ḍaphlā). See Tambourine meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is tambourine?
- Tambourine can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce tambourine?
- Tambourine is pronounced /ˌtæm.bəˈɹiːn/.
- What is the plural of tambourine?
- The plural of tambourine is tambourines.
Words near tambourine in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: tambourine (page history and authors); tambourine (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); മദ്ദളം (Malayalam) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-tambourine.ogg.
Cite this entry: “tambourine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tambourine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.