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Synonyms

fife

1 American  
[fahyf] / faɪf /

noun

  1. a high-pitched transverse flute used commonly in military and marching musical groups.

verb (used with or without object)

fifed, fifing

  1. to play on a fife.

Fife 2 American  
[fahyf] / faɪf /

noun

  1. Also called Fifeshire.  a historic county in E Scotland.

  2. a region in E Scotland. 504 sq. mi. (1,305 sq. km).

fife 1 British  
/ faɪf /

noun

  1. a small high-pitched flute similar to the piccolo and usually having no keys, used esp in military bands

"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

verb

  1. to play (music) on a fife

"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
Fife 2 British  
/ faɪf /

noun

  1. Duncan See Duncan Phyfe

"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
Fife 3 British  
/ faɪf /

noun

  1. a council area and historical county of E central Scotland, bordering on the North Sea between the Firths of Tay and Forth: coastal lowlands in the north and east, with several ranges of hills; mainly agricultural. Administrative centre: Glenrothes. Pop: 352 040 (2003 est). Area: 1323 sq km (511 sq miles)

"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
fife Cultural  

  1. A small flute with a high, piercing tone, used mainly in military bands.

Other Word Forms

  • fifer noun

Etymology

Origin of fife

1540–50; < German Pfeife pipe 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The two presidents celebrated the “ironclad alliance” amid fife and drums on the White House lawn ahead of their high-level meetings and a state dinner.

From Washington Times • Apr. 26, 2023

A fife and drum corps perform at King and Market streets before the parade passes through.

From Washington Post • Jun. 30, 2021

There was a “Spirit of ’76”—three men with fife and drum.

From Slate • Jun. 20, 2020

Here camp and its covert campaign of subversion feel wonderfully urgent and necessary: the gap-toothed fife player in the march toward “nonbinary.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2019

Mark watched, and hoped for a day when fife could be good and safe again.

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.