instrumentalist
Americannoun
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a person who plays a musical instrument
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philosophy a person who believes in the doctrines of instrumentalism
adjective
Etymology
Origin of instrumentalist
First recorded in 1815–25; instrumental + -ist
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.
Sometimes Robinson’s truth seeker is the man anchoring the beat, and sometimes he’s the instrumentalist testing the edges of what the audience can withstand.
From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025
The French composer and instrumentalist scored hundreds of films—including the bittersweet movie musical “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025
But when the composer and instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey set out to write one for saxophone and orchestra several years ago, he quickly dispensed with convention.
From New York Times • May 6, 2024
Previous winners of the RPS instrumentalist award include violinist Nicola Benedetti, cellist Steven Isserlis and percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2024
As it was passed from ragtime to early ‘Dixieland’ jazz bands, though, syncopation became more sophisticated: now, instead of the right hand cheating the left, one instrumentalist was playing against another.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
