Rimshot

noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A percussive note in which the drumstick hits both the head and the rim of the drum.
  2. 2
    A percussive sting or flourish used to punctuate a joke in a cabaret or vaudeville act. colloquial

Example

More examples

""Is French-Canadian an oxymoron?" asked Mary. "Far in the distance, there stands a lone drummer, and a rimshot is faintly heard," said Tom."

Etymology

From rim + shot.

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