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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.

“Death to My Hometown” carried a faint whiff of Revolutionary War cosplay as several E Streeters temporarily became a miniature fife and drum corps.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2024

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

When Daudet is unsuccessful in discovering the source of an old proverb, a fife player advises him to seek it in “the cicadas’ library,” meaning a field where one lies on one’s back and contemplates.

From New York Times • Jul. 1, 2021

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

From Slate • Jun. 20, 2020

I suppose I wanted to bring her back to fife.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

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.