cornet

American  

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

noun

cornets plural

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.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cornets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cornet

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French, Old French, equivalent to corn horn (< Latin cornū; see 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

See Examples For:

cornet cornets

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 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

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

With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord the King.

From BBC ● May 5, 2023

This made saliva flow into the horn which made the cornet player very angry.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Made from silicone-coated parchment, cornets can hold liquids well, without leaks or spills, and maintain shape despite contact with heat.

From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2023

Gougères were served, along with Keller’s signature cornets: salmon-tartare-filled ice-cream cones the size of golf tees.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 26, 2017

Mr. Morris played double bass; his co-curator, Stephen Haynes, fluegelhorn and cornets; and Bern Nix, hollow-body guitar.

From New York Times ● May 2, 2015

In the La Pasion Sevilla brass band, all the cornets are sopranos.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2012

He did not pay any attention because he was listening to the forming of the troops, the sound of the cornets, and the voices of command that were shattering the dawn.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez