French horn

American  

noun

1. a musical brass wind instrument with a long, coiled tube having a conical bore and a flaring bell.

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French horn British  

noun

1. music a valved brass instrument with a funnel-shaped mouthpiece and a tube of conical bore coiled into a spiral. It is a transposing instrument in F. Range: about three and a half octaves upwards from B on the second leger line below the bass staff See horn

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French horn Cultural  

1. A mellow-sounding brass instrument, pitched lower than a trumpet and higher than a tuba.

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Etymology

Origin of French horn

First recorded in 1735–45

Compare meaning

How does french-horn compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• English horn vs. French horn
• mellophone vs. French horn

Example Sentences

He played the French horn to get a college scholarship, but found he didn’t want to play in orchestras for the rest of his life.

From MarketWatch

Otto Mortensen’s Quintet for Winds followed, providing a showcase for players on flute, oboe/English horn, clarinet, bassoon and French horn.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet Rupert can still play his French horn to an exceptional standard, which Izzy describes as "a miracle".

From BBC

To the human ear, the hum might sound like a single note on a French horn or a foghorn.

From Science Daily

Mr. Ruff, who was also a bassist, played both bass and French horn in the duo he formed with the pianist Dwike Mitchell in 1955, which lasted until Mr. Mitchell’s death in 2013.

From New York Times