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contrabassoon

[ kon-truh-ba-soon, -buh- ]
/ ˈkɒn trə bæˈsun, -bə- /
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noun
a bassoon larger in size and an octave lower in pitch than the ordinary bassoon; a double bassoon.
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Origin of contrabassoon

First recorded in 1890–95; contra-2 + bassoon

OTHER WORDS FROM contrabassoon

con·tra·bas·soon·ist, noun

Words nearby contrabassoon

contraband, contrabandist, contraband of war, contrabass, contrabasso, contrabassoon, contracept, contraception, contraceptive, contraclockwise, contract
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use contrabassoon in a sentence

  • The performances also feature long stretches with two bass players and, aside from Coltrane’s saxophones, there are musicians bringing in the unusual-for-jazz timbres of the oboe, bass clarinet and contrabassoon.

    John Coltrane and the essence of 1961|Ben Ratliff|November 3, 2021|Washington Post

British Dictionary definitions for contrabassoon

contrabassoon
/ (ˌkɒntrəbəˈsuːn) /
noun
the largest instrument in the oboe family, pitched an octave below the bassoon; double bassoon

Derived forms of contrabassoon

contrabassoonist, 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
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