A drumhead is the stretched material across the top (and sometimes bottom) of a drum that you strike to make sound. When a drummer hits a drumhead with a stick or mallet, it vibrates and creates the boom, tap, or thump you hear. Modern drumheads are usually made of plastic, but for thousands of years they were made from animal skin, which is why we still call them “heads.”

The tighter you stretch a drumhead, the higher the pitch it produces. Drummers adjust the tension using metal rims and screws around the drum's edge. A loose drumhead produces a deep, low thump, while a tight one gives a sharp, high crack. Professional drummers often replace their drumheads regularly because they wear out from constant striking.

The word also appears in the military term drumhead court-martial, a quick trial held in the field during wartime, supposedly because a drum could serve as an improvised table for the proceedings. These swift trials happened when commanders needed to maintain discipline immediately, though they were sometimes criticized for being too hasty.