clarinet
Americannoun
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clarinets
plural
noun
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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
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an orchestral musician who plays the clarinet
Discover More
The most famous American clarinetist was Benny Goodman.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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."
Vocabulary lists containing clarinet
Musical Instruments - Introductory
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Musical Instruments - Middle School
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Musical Instruments - High 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:
As Allen's involvement in her life grew, clarinet and saxophone lessons at school became lessons beforehand at her family home.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
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
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
The clarinet was one of the only things she truly loved.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
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
With this anything-goes approach, producer Pete Miles encouraged the group to pick up instruments they'd never played before, from clarinets to pipe organs.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2023
They started setting up and I saw that they had six violins, two clarinets, a marching snare, Marjorie on a portable keyboard, and two flutes.
From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
