strum

¹ American  

[struhm] / strʌm /

verb (used with object)

• strums,
  present (3rd person singular)
• strummed,
  past participle,  past
• strumming
  present participle

1. to play on (a stringed musical instrument) by running the fingers lightly across the strings.

2. to produce (notes, a melody, etc.) by such playing.

   to strum a tune.

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verb (used without object)

• strums,
  present (3rd person singular)
• strummed,
  past participle,  past
• strumming
  present participle

1. to play on a stringed musical instrument by running the fingers lightly across the strings.

noun

1. the act of strumming.

2. the sound produced by strumming.

strum ² American  

[struhm] / strʌm /

noun

1. a strainer, as at the inlet of a system of tubing.

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strum British  

/ strʌm /

verb

1. to sound (the strings of a guitar, banjo, etc) with a downward or upward sweep of the thumb or of a plectrum

2. to play (chords, a tune, etc) in this way

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• strummer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• strumming
  present
• strummed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• strum
  simple
• strums
  simple
• have strummed
  perfect
• has strummed
  perfect
• am strumming
  progressive
• are strumming
  progressive
• is strumming
  progressive
• have been strumming
  perfect progressive
• has been strumming
  perfect progressive

Past

• strummed
  simple
• had strummed
  perfect
• was strumming
  progressive
• were strumming
  progressive
• had been strumming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will strum
  simple
• will have strummed
  perfect
• will be strumming
  progressive
• will have been strumming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of strum¹

1765–75; perhaps blend of string and thrum ¹

Origin of strum²

Origin uncertain

Explanation

To strum is to play a guitar or another stringed instrument by brushing the strings with your fingers. It's pretty easy to strum a ukulele, but it sounds better if you know some chords. You might tell the guitar player in your band, "Strum a few chords of that song we wrote yesterday." You can also strum idly on your sister's banjo without playing actual chords, just by running your thumb down the strings. Strum is a noun, too, meaning "the sound or act of strumming." This word dates from the 18th century, and experts think it's imitative, sounding a bit like an actual strum.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

strum strums strummed strumming

Fabi and I would take turns, I’d play a synthesizer melody and she would strum guitar chords, searching for rhythmic ideas; sometimes we’d just shout at each other.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

She looked so at ease, and she was, cracking jokes with the moms in her native language and letting the kids strum on her guitar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024

The music is an arena-country crescendo, from acoustic-guitar strum to full-band impact topped by pedal-steel guitar, along with gospel-organ underpinnings and country quavers in Beyoncé’s vocal lines.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2024

Worries escalated as this new cohort of generative AI tools threatened the livelihoods of people who write, draw, strum or code for a living.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

Awesiinh taps his snare and I strum my guitar.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

“I did that yesterday, when I was a kid,” he sings over hectic guitar strums, and his trilling digital falsetto, warped to maximize irritation, makes clear that those days are far behind him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

“KPop Demon Hunters” strums some the same chords in a more innocent key, swapping in a K-pop trio for Delta blues masters.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2025

And with the fluttering strums of a cuatro venezolano in “Joropo,” she called attention to the South American folkloric genre of the same name.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025

“It’s a lot of talking going on while I sing my song,” she observes in “Ameriican Requiem” over guitar strums and electric sitar, adding, “It’s a lot of chatter in here.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2024

“This sound okay, Sparrow?” she asks as she strums a chord.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday strummed on a guitar and also went to a shopping mall destroyed by a Russian strike as he visited Kyiv to show his country's support for Ukraine.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

Over a wheezing harmonica and lightly strummed guitar, the title character sets out on a journey to avenge the death of her father.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

She persuaded me to play a cajón for the first time as she strummed her guitar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

Instead, a good 50% of the tracks retreat to safer ground - slowly strummed songs of devotion, packed with valentine card sentiments.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025

I made a simple chord and strummed it.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

“It has none of those elements one sees so often: festivals of wrought iron, little Juliet balconies, guitars strumming in every corner,” he recalled in his 1998 interview.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

But her guitar was banned from the set - so she made the beat by strumming her acrylic nails together.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Chip falls in with a troupe of street performers, evades the police, juggles along the Seine and eventually wanders into a smoky bar, where Penelope is strumming her guitar.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

“Too many people that don’t know Mississippi think of it as a river, steamboats and some old guy strumming a banjo on a broken porch,” says Mr. Carswell.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025

And even though he bought a used acoustic guitar last year, it’s more for decoration and to act cool while strumming a chord than anything else.

From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan