cornet

American  

[kawr-net, kawr-nit, kawr-net] / kɔrˈnɛt, ˈkɔr nɪt, kɔrˈnɛt /

noun

1. Music. a valved wind instrument of the trumpet family.

2. a small cone of paper twisted at the end and used for holding candy, nuts, etc.

3. a pastry cone, usually filled with whipped cream.

4. British. a conical wafer, as for ice cream; cone.

5. a large, white, winged headdress formerly worn by the members of the Sisters of Charity.

6. a woman's headdress, often cone-shaped, usually of delicate fabrics and having lappets of lace or other material, worn by women from the 14th to the 18th century.

7. a pennant or flag used for signaling in a navy.

8. (formerly) the officer who carried the colors in a troop of cavalry.

   the cornet of horse.

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cornet British  

/ ˈkɔːnɪt /

noun

1. Also called: cornet à pistons.  a three-valved brass instrument of the trumpet family. Written range: about two and a half octaves upwards from E below middle C. It is a transposing instrument in B flat or A

2. a person who plays the cornet

3. a variant spelling of cornett

4. a cone-shaped paper container for sweets, etc

5. a cone-shaped wafer container for ice cream

6. (formerly) the lowest rank of commissioned cavalry officer in the British army

7. short for field cornet

8. a starched and wired muslin or lace cap worn by women from the 12th to the 15th centuries

9. the large white headdress of some nuns

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Etymology

Origin of cornet

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French, Old French, equivalent to corn horn (< Latin cornū; cornu ) + -et -et

Explanation

A cornet is a brass instrument that looks like a smaller, wider trumpet. The cornet used to be a common feature of jazz bands, until it was replaced by the trumpet. The cornet sounds similar to a trumpet, but softer and mellower. This difference in tone or timbre is why a cornet can't usually be played as a substitute for a trumpet (or vice versa), even though they are played in the same way and at identical pitches. They simply sound different. The word cornet comes from the original cornet-à-pistons, or "cornet with valves," and the Latin cornu, "horn."

Example Sentences

An inventive trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong shifted jazz away from an ensemble experience with collective improvisation to one focused on solo performance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026

The cornet and trumpet virtuoso, who performed in Ornette Coleman’s band and taught jazz history at Pomona College and Pasadena City College for decades, chose the neighborhood partly because it was bustling with artists.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2025

On “The Sphinx,” their two voices entwine in an off-kilter unison, Cherry’s pocket cornet doubling Coleman’s plastic saxophone.

From New York Times • Mar. 6, 2024

A 95-year-old cornet player has been honoured with a Guinness world record for his lifelong love of music.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2023

The terrified mother pawned the cornet immediately and destroyed the pawn ticket.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith