oboe

[oh-boh]

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.)

Origin of oboe

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

oboe

[oh-boh]

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

Contemporary Examples of 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

Historical Examples of oboe

Does he play something like our violin or clarinet or oboe, or what?
George Loves Gistla
James McKimmey
"I guess I'll take up the study of the oboe," grumbled Jennie Stone.
Ruth Fielding At College
Alice B. Emerson
Mozart wrote an oboe concerto for the celebrated oboist Gius.
Life Of Mozart, Vol. 1 (of 3)
Otto Jahn
If he wishes he may introduce a violin, oboe or clarinet solo.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III (of 3)
Alexander Wheelock Thayer
Pauline began dancing, her father accompanying her with an oboe.
The Revolution in Tanner's Lane
Mark Rutherford

British Dictionary definitions for oboe

oboe

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

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.

oboe in Culture

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.