oompah

American  

[oom-pah, oom-] / ˈum pɑ, ˈʊm- /

Also oompah-pah

noun

1. a repetitious bass accompaniment in music typically provided by brasses.

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adjective

1. marked by an oompah.

   oompah band.

oompah British  

/ ˈuːmˌpɑː /

noun

1. a representation of the sound made by a deep brass instrument, esp in military band music

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Etymology

Origin of oompah

First recorded in 1875–80; imitative

Example Sentences

Facing intense criticism was not new for Scotland head coach Steve Clarke when his dejected players left Germany to the sound of a Bavarian oompah band after a deflating Euros campaign in the summer.

From BBC • Nov. 18, 2024

Christmastown’s Village of Lights runs from November 24 through December 24 and features festive live entertainment in the tiny replica Bavarian town, including carolers, oompah bands and Christmas characters.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 8, 2023

Revellers sit at long communal tables to swig beer, eat sausages, pretzel or pork knuckle, and listen to oompah bands.

From Reuters • Apr. 29, 2022

Eva Salina lent her poised, lustrous voice to complexly morose songs from the Balkans in a duo with the Serbian-style accordionist Peter Stan, who backed her with oompah chords and puckish, skittering obbligatos.

From New York Times • Jan. 15, 2018

On top of this accompanying oompah the rag pianists wove a catchy tune that pulled the rhythm around, a technique called syncopation.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall