oboe

[ oh-boh ]

/ ˈoʊ boʊ /

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.)

Nearby words

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

Origin of oboe

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

Definition for oboe (2 of 2)

oboe

[ 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. 2019

Examples from the Web for oboe

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
A large drum beaten at both ends, and a kind of oboe or pipe.
Discoveries among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon|Austen H. Layard
Amidst trembling strings the oboe d'amore plays the "third theme."
Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies|Philip H. Goepp
Flutes were only rarely used to replace the oboe in soft passages; there were no clarinets in Salzburg.
Life Of Mozart, Vol. 1 (of 3)|Otto Jahn

"Try the oboe, Herr Kapellmeister," suggested Sven, and this was received with noisy signs of joy.
Melomaniacs|James Huneker
Add to that, an inclination for odd musical instruments—the kaithra, the tambour, the oboe—all nomad instruments.
Operation Haystack|Frank Patrick Herbert

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 Formsoboist, 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

Word Origin and History for oboe

oboe

1724, from Italian oboe, from phonetic spelling of Middle French hautbois (itself borrowed in English 16c. as hautboy), from haut "high, loud, high-pitched" (see haught) + bois "wood" (see bush (n.)). So called because it had the highest register among woodwind instruments. Related: Oboist.

Culture 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.

Note

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