oboe

[ oh-boh ]

/ ˈoʊ boʊ /

Save This Word!

noun

a woodwind instrument having a slender conical, tubular body and a double-reed mouthpiece.

(in an organ) a reed stop with a sound like that of an oboe.

(a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter O.)

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of oboe

1690–1700; <Italian <French hautbois, equivalent to haut high + bois wood; see hautboy

Words nearby oboe

obloquy, obmutescence, obnounce, obnoxious, obnubilate, oboe, oboe da caccia, oboe d'amore, oboe d'amour, oboist, obol

Other definitions for oboe (2 of 2)

oboe²

[ oh-boh ]

/ ˈoʊ boʊ /

noun (sometimes initial capital letter)

a navigation system utilizing two radar ground stations that measure the distance to an aircraft and then radio the information to the aircraft.

Origin of oboe

First recorded in 1940–45; special use of oboe¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use oboe in a sentence

For Kirke it was being paid to pretend to play the oboe that heightened her affair with classical music.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Boring math geniuses, oboe-playing poets, and rich kids from New York need not apply.
Dirty Secrets of College Admissions|Kathleen Kingsbury|January 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Rich kids from New York, boring Asian math geniuses, and oboe-playing poets need not apply.
Dirty Secrets of College Admissions|Kathleen Kingsbury|January 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST
A musical prodigy, seven years old, who will order the fifth oboe out of the Albert Hall as soon as look at him.
Punch, or the London Charivari, May 13, 1914|Various

It is the timid oboe that sounds the A for the orchestra to tune by.
How to Listen to Music, 7th ed.|Henry Edward Krehbiel
The young man in the red velvet cap plays on the violoncello; the other on the oboe, of which only the reed is visible.
A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools|Various
He also had lessons in the vestry room of the Octagon Chapel; and he acquired some skill upon the flute and oboe from Mr. Fish.
A Comprehensive History of Norwich|A. D. Bayne
An oboe of ivory, carved by Anciuti in Milan, beginning of the eighteenth century.
Musical Myths and Facts, Volume I (of 2)|Carl Engel

British Dictionary definitions for oboe

oboe

/ (ˈəʊbəʊ) /

noun

a woodwind instrument of the family that includes the bassoon and cor anglais, consisting of a conical tube fitted with a mouthpiece having a double reed. It has a penetrating nasal tone. Range: about two octaves plus a sixth upwards from B flat below middle C

a person who plays this instrument in an orchestrasecond oboe

Archaic form: hautboy

Derived forms of oboe

oboist, noun

Word Origin for oboe

C18: via Italian oboe, phonetic approximation to French haut bois, literally: high wood (referring to its pitch)

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

Cultural definitions for oboe

oboe

A woodwind instrument played with a double reed; similar to a bassoon, but pitched higher. Some describe its tone as nasal.

notes for oboe

The oboe appears frequently as a solo instrument in symphonies and other kinds of classical music.