saxophone

American  

[sak-suh-fohn] / ˈsæk səˌfoʊn /

noun

• saxophones
  plural

1. a musical wind instrument consisting of a conical, usually brass tube with keys or valves and a mouthpiece with one reed.

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saxophone British  

/ ˈsæksəˌfəʊn, sækˈsɒfənɪst, ˌsæksəˈfɒnɪk /

noun

1. Often shortened to: sax.  a keyed wind instrument of mellow tone colour, used mainly in jazz and dance music. It is made in various sizes, has a conical bore, and a single reed

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saxophone Cultural  

1. A wind instrument classified as a woodwind because it is played with a reed, although it is usually made of metal. Saxophones appear mainly in jazz, dance, and military bands. They are made in several ranges, from soprano to bass.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• saxophonist
  noun
• saxophonic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• saxophones
  plural

Etymology

Origin of saxophone

1850–55; Sax ( see saxhorn) + -o- + -phone

Explanation

A saxophone is a brass instrument that you play by blowing into a mouthpiece and pressing keys to form musical notes. John Coltrane and Charlie Parker (and Lisa Simpson :) were famous saxophone players. Saxophones are similar to instruments like clarinets, because both use a reed mouthpiece and are considered woodwinds. The saxophone, however, also qualifies as a brass instrument, like the trumpet and the tuba, since it's made out of brass and makes sound through vibrations inside the instrument's body. The word saxophone comes from Antoine Joseph Sax, the Belgian inventor of the saxophone. Sax's father, also named Sax, invented the less successful saxhorn.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

saxophone saxophones

Memorabilia includes a clapperboard used for The Man Who Fell To Earth, and his first instrument, a Grafton Alto saxophone bought for him by his father in 1961.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Music: Jagger performed along with Bobby Keys, who plays the saxophone solo on “Brown Sugar,” Stephen Stills of the group Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Doris Troy, the soul singer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

After he was declared unfit to serve in the military due to a lung issue, he went on to play clarinet and saxophone in a band.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

Early in his life, Greenspan studied at the Juilliard School, where he focused on the clarinet and saxophone, according to his autobiography.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

He would wait until everyone was asleep, then take out Michael’s gold saxophone, and start blowing, sometimes for hours.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Produced by Sandy Linzer, the record was simultaneously rooted in the past and present, blending hypnotic, churning rhythms with sympathetic strings, smooth saxophones and muted trumpets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

They were huddled, with several other members of the band, in a small studio in Khartoum, surrounded by electric guitars, keyboards, drums and saxophones, writing lyrics and recording new music.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

In truth, you are hearing three saxophones, but they’re all being played simultaneously by one man.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026

No, Moore goes for the hard stuff: wailing saxophones, arrhythmic bass lines, drums that follow beats so out of time they might as well come from the deepest reaches of space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025

Was this the only true history of the times, a mood blared by trumpets, trombones, saxophones and drums, a song with turgid, inadequate words?

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison