trombone

American  

[trom-bohn, trom-bohn] / trɒmˈboʊn, ˈtrɒm boʊn /

noun

1. a musical wind instrument consisting of a cylindrical metal tube expanding into a bell and bent twice in a U shape, usually equipped with a slide slide trombone.

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trombone British  

/ trɒmˈbəʊn /

noun

1. a brass instrument, a low-pitched counterpart of the trumpet, consisting of a tube the effective length of which is varied by means of a U-shaped slide. The usual forms of this instrument are the tenor trombone (range: about two and a half octaves upwards from E) and the bass trombone (pitched a fourth lower)

2. a person who plays this instrument in an orchestra

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trombone Cultural  

1. A brass instrument; the player can change its pitch by sliding one part of the tube in and out of the other. The tone of the trombone is mellower than that of the trumpet.

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Other Word Forms

• trombonist noun

Etymology

Origin of trombone

1715–25; < Italian, equivalent to tromb ( a ) trumpet (< Provençal < Germanic; compare Old High German trumpa, trumba horn, trumpet) + -one augmentative suffix

Explanation

A trombone is a brass musical instrument with a sliding bar that changes the pitch of the notes. You play a trombone by blowing in the mouthpiece and moving the slide. A trombone looks a bit like an extra-long trumpet, and in fact the word comes from the Italian tromba, "trumpet," and the suffix -one, "large." Like trumpet players, trombone players (also called trombonists) use embouchure, a method of holding the mouth, lips, tongue, and teeth as they blow into the mouthpiece.

Example Sentences

The famed trombonist started his music career as a child, playing the trumpet at age 12, but later shifted to his iconic trombone, playing on street corners in the neighbourhood.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026

Yvonne Lanauze’s vocal is modest, but the track blossoms in the instrumental solos—Hodges’s alto sax singing with quiet poise, and Tyree Glenn’s trombone talking with emotion and eloquence, raising the whole performance to another level.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

What started as musical chairs is beginning to sound like a sad trombone.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2025

A trombone covered in wax, along with other accompanying small sculptures, suggests an esoteric ritual waiting to be enacted.

From New York Times • May 2, 2024

My hands are sweaty as I twist together my trombone.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari