contrabass

[ kon-truh-beys ]

/ ˈkɒn trəˌbeɪs /

Music.

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noun

(in any family of instruments) the member below the bass.

(in the violin family) the double bass.

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of such instruments: a contrabass trombone.

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Origin of contrabass

From Italian, dating back to 1590–1600; see origin at contrabasso

OTHER WORDS FROM contrabass

con·tra·bass·ist

[kon-truh-bey-sist, -bas-ist], /ˈkɒn trəˌbeɪ sɪst, -ˌbæs ɪst/, noun

Words nearby contrabass

contr., contra, contraband, contrabandist, contraband of war, contrabass, contrabasso, contrabassoon, contracept, contraception, contraceptive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use contrabass in a sentence

As a contrabass to the rhythm of the blacksmiths hammer, the booming murmur of the sea trembled across the summer air.
Cursed|George Allan England
Down the shaded street the metallic rhythm of the anvil was breaking through the contrabass of the surf.
Cursed|George Allan England
The bombardon in B flat or C, an octave lower than the euphonium, corresponds to the contrabass tuba in the orchestra.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 2|Various
The tone was pleasant and full, but not powerful enough for the contrabass register in a military band.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 4|Various

Darwin had the contrabass played to an audience of sprouting garden-beans, in order to observe the effect of music on vegetation.
The Quest|Frederik van Eeden

British Dictionary definitions for contrabass

contrabass

/ (ˌkɒntrəˈbeɪs) /

noun

a member of any of various families of musical instruments that is lower in pitch than the bass

another name for double bass

adjective

of or denoting the instrument of a family that is lower than the bass

Derived forms of contrabass

contrabassist (ˌkɒntrəˈbeɪsɪst, -ˈbæs-), noun

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