bassoon
Americannoun
noun
-
a woodwind instrument, the tenor of the oboe family. Range: about three and a half octaves upwards from the B flat below the bass staff
-
an orchestral musician who plays the bassoon
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bassoon
1720–30; < French basson < Italian bassone ( bass ( o ) low ( see base 2) + -one augmentative suffix)
Explanation
A bassoon is a musical instrument with a low, rich tone. A bassoon is like a deep, bass version of an oboe. In the category of woodwind instruments, which have reeds that rest on the musician's lips as she plays, the bassoon is the deepest-sounding. You will probably hear at least one bassoon if you attend a band or orchestral concert. The word bassoon comes from the 17th century French basson, sharing a Latin root with bass — bassus, or "low."
Vocabulary lists containing bassoon
Music to My Ears: Instrumental Vocab
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Musical Instruments - Introductory
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Musical Instruments - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Orson has embarrassing gastric issues and watches alpha-male videos in the basement, where he also practices the bassoon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
In addition to being named Orson, the lad has chronic gastrointestinal distress and plays the bassoon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
All along, the dancers were accompanied not only by Alonso and her bassoon but also by the amazingly wide-ranging voice of Fay Victor.
From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
A daughter of musical parents, soprano Christiane Stutzmann and bass Christian Dupuy, Nathalie learned piano when she was young, then cello and bassoon.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2023
“As is Governor of Virginia,” explained the bassoon.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
It's a deliciously strange, herky-jerky pop number, orchestrated by synth bassoons and merry-go-round organs.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2024
“Nobody else is in my brain but me, which is why some of the things I think about are crazy - I hear oboes and bassoons and English horns,” he told recordcollectormag.com in 2020.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 23, 2022
Beautiful bassoons and oboes opened the second movement, the slow poke of the horn a touch too insistent, and Rachlin offered his softer side.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2022
Berg just uses quiet, flowing triplets in the clarinet and in the piano, repeated for almost four bars, and he puts a very smooth line under this in the bassoons and harp.
From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2015
"May I have flutes, clarinets, oboes—I don't suppose we have any bassoons? Ah! But there is one! Come up, come up!"
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
