clarinet

American  

[klar-uh-net] / ˌklær əˈnɛt /

noun

• clarinets
  plural

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

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clarinet British  

/ 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

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clarinet Cultural  

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.

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Discover More

The most famous American clarinetist was Benny Goodman.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• clarinetist
  noun
• clarinettist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clarinets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of clarinet

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

Explanation

A clarinet is a woodwind instrument. A clarinet has a simple, straight tube with intricate keys, a single-reed mouthpiece, and a flared, bell-shaped end. When you play the clarinet, you blow through the mouthpiece and make notes with your fingers on the keys. Clarinets are distinctive because they are straight, with a black body and silver keys, and have a large pitch range. The word clarinet comes from the French clarinette, the diminutive form of clarine. "little bell," which comes from clair, "bright or clear."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clarinet clarinets

The program also includes the New York premiere of Billy Childs’s “A More Perfect Union,” with the brothers Demarre and Anthony McGill on flute and clarinet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

He enrolled at the prestigious Juilliard School, where he spent two years studying saxophone and clarinet before dropping out in 1944 to play professionally with the Henry Jerome swing band.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Far from being a budding economist, the young Greenspan was a talented musician, who studied the clarinet at New York's renowned Julliard School of Music.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 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

Week after week, aided or coerced by their parents, they came, and week after week Milton Stephanides excused himself to go up to his bedroom and play his clarinet out the window.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Mr. Ehrlich has recorded them in a variety of settings featuring saxophones, clarinets and flutes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

The farmers and miners got to hear the most intoxicating music on Earth from brassy cornet players and driving saxophonists, exotic trombone mutes, squealing trumpets and sultry clarinets.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024

She gave as an example a scene at Eric’s ranch in Wyoming where “oboes and clarinets play triplets, suggesting someone riding a horse.”

From Washington Times ● Oct. 26, 2023

Wagner built the twilight setting of Act I of “Die Walküre” out of mellow, amber-colored instruments — cellos, bassoons, clarinets, horns.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2022

That and the clarinets and even they were called licorice sticks.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison