How to Use tambourine in a Sentence

tambourine

noun
  • Case in point: Gonzo, who plays the tambourine on his face.
    Bill Keveney, USA TODAY, 12 Aug. 2019
  • In their minds, the judges should've sent Gonzo the tambourine man home, instead.
    Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, 31 July 2019
  • The rattle is about the size of a tambourine, with a round frame of hemlock wood.
    Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2019
  • Mendes sings over light strings and an echoey tambourine.
    Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 13 Nov. 2019
  • By the song’s end, Carlisle had grabbed a tambourine and was shimmying along with the tune.
    Annie Zaleski, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2021
  • The group inched its way up Peachtree Street to a soundtrack of chants, kazoos and a tambourine.
    Tamar Hallerman, ajc, 24 June 2021
  • Their cousin Dream, 3½, can be seen playing the tambourine.
    Georgia Slater, PEOPLE.com, 12 Sep. 2020
  • There’s Mark, the singer: His tambourine scatters sparks.
    James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Aug. 2022
  • The one on the right warbles on a flute, the middle strums a guitar and the one on the left slowly taps away on a tambourine.
    Ben Morse, CNN, 14 Sep. 2024
  • Imagine hearing a good jazz piece, and here comes the tambourine.
    BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2021
  • Wilson arrived on stage with a drink in one hand and a tambourine in the other.
    Troy L. Smith, cleveland, 3 July 2022
  • Try to not put that onto the member who is beating the tambourine.
    Annie Lane, oregonlive, 4 Mar. 2021
  • And when Schultz threw his tambourine over his shoulder to wade into the crowd, there wasn’t even that.
    Dylan Owens, The Know, 8 Aug. 2019
  • Bands huddled in a circle that sing, tap on tambourines and bang drums to the rhythm of samba.
    Luis Andres Henao, chicagotribune.com, 22 Oct. 2019
  • Bands huddled in a circle that sing, tap on tambourines and bang drums to the rhythm of Samba.
    Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2019
  • In other words, Doyle won’t hand us emotion dead on a plate, or even on a tambourine.
    Jesse Green, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2022
  • On Wednesday, the crowd was buoyant as the Black Passion Band broke out the tambourine and bass guitar.
    Marissa J. Lang, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2019
  • Some shook tambourines, rang yellow bells or banged on pots.
    Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2023
  • Each of the last two games, Brewers players have brought bongos and a tambourine into the dugout.
    Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2018
  • Daisy then stays for the rest of the Six's set, playing tambourine and providing back-up vocals.
    Town & Country, 10 Mar. 2023
  • Want to do no job whatsoever, but just sit on stumps and shake a tambourine?
    Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2020
  • Doyle even manages the equivalent of a hat trick, when an actor plays a tambourine that, in turn, plays a plate.
    Jesse Green, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2022
  • As the trio took the mic, Rogers, 29, could be seen playing the tambourine and sharing the mic with Springsteen and Bryan who were playing the guitar, per footage from the venue.
    Ilana Kaplan, Peoplemag, 28 Mar. 2024
  • In the snippet, the 39-year-old singer played the tambourine while wearing a bejeweled jumpsuit.
    Annie O’Sullivan, Good Housekeeping, 11 Dec. 2022
  • Ogilvie shook her tambourine and led the congregation in song.
    Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2021
  • Each day, three times a day, Traylor puts on a Santa hat, grabs a tambourine and sets off from his apartment.
    Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2020
  • They were joined by union members playing drums and tambourines.
    Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 June 2023
  • The toddler can be seen hitting the tambourine as his famous parents cheer him on.
    Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024
  • Many in the audience followed the tempo with tambourines, small drums or hand claps.
    Robert McCoppin, courant.com, 22 June 2018
  • Previous synth drum kits would have a smattering of stock-ish sounds: a triangle, a tambourine, a shaker, for example.
    Peter Rubin, Longreads, 6 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tambourine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: