Percussionist

noun

noun ·4 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A trained musician who plays percussion instruments, as opposed to a drummer who lacks formal training.

    "Since the 1960s, the keyboardist, vibraphonist and percussionist Mulatu Astatke has been a prime mover in Ethio-jazz: unmistakably Ethiopian music that also draws on American jazz, Afro-Caribbean music and more."

  2. 2
    a musician who plays percussion instruments wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
drummerdrummer

Example

More examples

"Their father was a composer, and vodun percussionist, and their mother was a traditional singer."

Etymology

From percussion + -ist.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.