How to Use percussion in a Sentence

percussion

noun
  • He plays percussion for the band.
  • The marimba is a percussion instrument.
  • The Capitol shook with the force of percussion grenades, and smoke rose above the crowd.
    — Sarah D. Wire, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024
  • Sam is the percussion player in the trio; hence the P in his name.
    — Greg Burnett, cleveland, 3 Oct. 2019
  • No, not grungy, but just bass-heavy and 808, and drums and just mad, hard percussions.
    — Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Jared Schonig, who wrote the percussion book for Moulin Rouge!
    — Meredith Carey, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2021
  • While the high-end could have more detail, the percussion still cuts through, and the lead synth has some bite to it.
    — PC Magazine, 9 Apr. 2025
  • So that was echoed by the string section, by the horn section, by the percussion.
    — Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 June 2024
  • Soon, the sounds of keyboards, standup bass and percussion echoed from down the long hallway.
    — Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024
  • The groove, the energy, the horns, the sound of people cheering, the Latin percussion?
    — Ed Masley, azcentral, 27 June 2018
  • Go-go, a unique blend of funk, rhythm, and percussion born in the streets and clubs of Washington in the 1970s, has been the lifeblood of the city for decades.
    — Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 24 Sep. 2024
  • Nicholas also plays percussion in the band and takes art class.
    — Ashley McBride, ExpressNews.com, 17 Nov. 2019
  • The soundtrack changes to a percussion piece that evokes a sense of wonder.
    — Jingnan Peng, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2020
  • Outside of YouTube, Vogedes plays percussion in the high school band.
    — Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2020
  • The little brown thing in the middle is percussion at best.
    — Joe Brown, Men's Health, 28 Feb. 2022
  • Each mouse line shone a spotlight on a different section — the strings, the winds, the brass, the percussion.
    — Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
  • Their jumps add percussion to the din, boards slapping and grinding against rails and pipes.
    — Amelia Nierenberg, BostonGlobe.com, 2 July 2018
  • Lamar and Rihanna’s vocals on the track sound rich, and the percussion sounds nice and crisp.
    — PC Magazine, 6 May 2025
  • A jazzy clarinet rises to the surface; percussion comes to the fore in the Act II earthquake.
    — Georgia Rowe, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2017
  • The distinctive sound of each section of the orchestra—the brass, the strings, the woodwinds, the percussion—would carry, or not, in the space.
    — Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2022
  • Toto did all the percussion in L.A. here, and Steve Lukather did some of the guitar backward sounds.
    — Max Evry, Pitchfork, 13 Oct. 2023
  • But the cool blue tones of the keyboard and the precise ticktock of the percussion also signaled a new era.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2019
  • It’s a daring opener because of its eight-minute length and the lack of percussion in its first half.
    — Mark Richardson, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2022
  • But mostly on the stage during the shows, Ralph was singing and playing percussion.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2021
  • Kendrick fits right in, caroming off the percussion like a pinball.
    — Stephen Kearse, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
  • Fun fact: The percussion clicks and shakes used in the theme are all made from household objects — like cups, bowls and kitchenware.
    — Lauren Jackson, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2020
  • Mälkki made sure that gong had the gusto of avant-garde percussion.
    — Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2021
  • Spot-on work from the brass and percussion completed the vivid sound-picture.
    — Tim Smith, baltimoresun.com, 5 May 2017
  • Flute cut through xylophone and percussion early as more guitar and timpani rang out later.
    — Jim Ryan, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
  • Chicago’s Third Coast Percussion commissioned the violinist to write a piece for them, her first for percussion.
    — Beth Wood, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 July 2025

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

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