high-hat cymbals

or hi-hat cymbals

plural noun

, Music.

1. a pair of cymbals mounted on a rod so that the upper cymbal can be lifted and dropped on the lower by means of a pedal.

Word History and Origins

Origin of high-hat cymbals¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

As a drummer, it always bugs me when I see a drum set illustrated in a clumsy fashion: the tom-toms at weird angles, the high-hat cymbals all wrong.

From Washington Post

It’s from clutching a drumstick and using it to relentlessly pound eighth-notes on my high-hat cymbals.

From Washington Post

In various songs, it has beefed up what once were brittle low-resolution sounds, made stiff rhythms funkier and extended some tracks with remixes that incorporate elements of the electronic dance music — hissing high-hat cymbals, a firm four-on-the-floor thump — that Kraftwerk presaged.

From New York Times

And paying that bit of attention brings you into the momentum and the particulars, a dry snare drum curiously low in the mix, overmodulated vocals, and extra elements brought up loudly: synth percussion, high-hat cymbals, conga drums.

From New York Times

Kettle drums, bass drums, xylophones, Chinese gongs, vibraphones, snare drums and high-hat cymbals paraded by in carts, banged and stroked and tinkled enthusiastically by crew after crew of maddened tympanists.

From Project Gutenberg