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brass band

American

noun

Music.

a band made up principally of brass wind instruments.

brass band British

noun

See band 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

brass band Cultural

A musical group composed of brass and percussion instruments. Sometimes called marching bands, brass bands often play at athletic events and military exercises and in parades.

Etymology

Origin of brass band

First recorded in 1825–35

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.

Mobile being the site of America’s first Mardi Gras celebration in 1703, a brass band led a second line march.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

The audience rose as a brass band began to play upon the arrival of the royal family, who sat in their box in the famous concert hall.

From Barron's • Nov. 8, 2025

A brass band cracks the calm, something between ska and Basque tradition, loud and local.

From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025

Kicking through a moat with a brass band on an in-the-round riser that vaulted him over the main stage field.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

The brass band, playing “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean,” marched and slammed back into town, and everyone took the day off.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023