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contrabass

[ kon-truh-beys ]

noun

  1. (in any family of instruments) the member below the bass.
  2. (in the violin family) the double bass.


adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of such instruments:

    a contrabass trombone.

contrabass

/ ˌkɒntrəˈbeɪsɪst; ˌkɒntrəˈbeɪs; -ˈbæs- /

noun

  1. a member of any of various families of musical instruments that is lower in pitch than the bass
  2. another name for double bass
“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


adjective

  1. of or denoting the instrument of a family that is lower than the bass
“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
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Derived Forms

  • contrabassist, noun
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Other Words From

  • con·tra·bass·ist [kon, -tr, uh, -bey-sist, -bas-ist], noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of contrabass1

From Italian, dating back to 1590–1600; contrabasso
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Example Sentences

As a contrabass to the rhythm of the blacksmiths hammer, the booming murmur of the sea trembled across the summer air.

Down the shaded street the metallic rhythm of the anvil was breaking through the contrabass of the surf.

The bombardon in B flat or C, an octave lower than the euphonium, corresponds to the contrabass tuba in the orchestra.

The tone was pleasant and full, but not powerful enough for the contrabass register in a military band.

Darwin had the contrabass played to an audience of sprouting garden-beans, in order to observe the effect of music on vegetation.

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