noun

• 1A West African instrument played by striking a bowl or gourd floating upside down in a pail of water.

• 2A drum partly filled with water to adjust the pitch and timbre, used by North American Indians as well as by the Chaco and Guaycurú of South America.

  ‘More commonly, cowhorn rattles with wooden handles and water drums were used.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Instruments for making music include the water drum, the hand-held rattle, and the human voice.’