clarinet

[klar-uh-net]

noun

1. a woodwind instrument in the form of a cylindrical tube with a single reed attached to its mouthpiece.

clarinet

/ ˌklærɪˈnɛt /

noun

1. Obsolete name: clarionet. a keyed woodwind instrument with a cylindrical bore and a single reed. It is a transposing instrument, most commonly pitched in A or B flat

2. an orchestral musician who plays the clarinet

clarinet

1. A woodwind instrument, usually made of black wood or plastic, and played with a single reed. The clarinet has extensive use in Dixieland, jazz, and military music, as well as in classical music.

The most famous American clarinetist was Benny Goodman.

Other Word Forms

• clarinetist noun
• clarinettist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of clarinet¹

1790–1800; < French clarinette, equivalent to Old French clarin clarion + -ette -ette

Word History and Origins

Origin of clarinet¹

C18: from French clarinette, probably from Italian clarinetto, from clarino trumpet

Example Sentences

She previously played clarinet in the East Grinstead Concert Band until she had to stop five years ago due to her Parkinson's symptoms.

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“Why are they targeting a clarinet player? A clarinet player standing on the sidewalk far away from the street, following instructions?” her husband asked.

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A whisp of a canorous clarinet or a rumbling rattle is all it takes for a kind of instant transport to a far-off time and place.

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“I needed somebody that could play the trumpet and then someone to play clarinet for the polkas,” he says.

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In 1964, the album Shakespeare and All That Jazz, recorded with her husband on clarinet and saxophone, was released to critical acclaim.

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