woodwinds

Cultural  

1. A group of wind instruments with a softer tone than that of brass instruments. Woodwind players do not set the air in their instruments in motion by blowing through their closed lips against a cup-shaped mouthpiece, as players of brass instruments do. In woodwinds, the players insert the mouthpiece into their mouths and blow while pressing their lips against a single or double reed. Bassoons, clarinets, oboes, and saxophones are played in this way. In other woodwinds, the player blows across a hole (fifes, flutes, and piccolos) or into a whistlelike mouthpiece (recorders).

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Example Sentences

I can hear the woodwinds and strings in your ode to creative lawyering in the states.

From Slate • Jan. 10, 2026

I went through the woodwinds — played saxophone, then I played oboe.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025

The striking “Porcelana,” about enduring pain for fleeting pleasure, has a woozy, dissonant arrangement that mixes woodwinds, shrieking strings, and skittering percussion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

In the often exquisite score, the strings throb and the woodwinds flutter.

From New York Times • May 6, 2024

NOTE: In some woodwinds, such as the clarinet , the upper "octave" may actually be the third harmonic rather than the second, which complicates the fingering patterns of these instruments.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones