Definition of "drumhead" [drum•head]

• Music The material stretched over one end or either of both ends of a drum. (noun)
• Nautical The circular top part of a capstan, used to hold bars for turning. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Preposterous as this contention seemed to Washington, he did not call a drumhead court-martial for the immediate sentence and execution of a spy caught in civilian dress."
• "A pea on a drumhead is a restful object in comparison with Watson on that ice-hill."
• "Andre got a "drumhead" trial before General Washington."