piccolo

American  

[pik-uh-loh] / ˈpɪk əˌloʊ /

noun

• piccolos
  plural

1. a small flute sounding an octave higher than the ordinary flute.

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piccolo British  

/ ˈpɪkəˌləʊ /

noun

1. a woodwind instrument, the smallest member of the flute family, lying an octave above that of the flute See flute

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piccolo Cultural  

1. A small, high-pitched flute.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• piccolos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of piccolo

1855–60; < Italian: literally, small

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Explanation

Many orchestras include a piccolo, which is a small, high-pitched flute. The word piccolo is in the fairly extensive group of Italian words that designate musical instruments and other musical terms. A piccolo is a small flute that plays an octave higher than an ordinary one; the word comes, appropriately enough, from the Italian for "small," which is also piccolo.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

piccolo piccolos

She holds her head high whether playing piccolo or the 6-foot contrabass flute, as if her instrument were a magic wand used to activate her voice in the highest registers and the deepest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2025

Being selected is a testament to every band member who came before, said Claire Rhyu, a flute and piccolo player, and she’s still in disbelief.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2023

And its finish: that long drawn-out sigh of clarinet, the delayed relief of its puff of piccolo — just perfect.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 20, 2023

But there’s also much to revel in as the background piccolo parts take on a greater presence in the mix.

From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2022

As if understanding his signal perfectly, a single piccolo played a single note and off in the east a solitary shaft of cool lemon light flicked across the sky.

From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster

More often, Ms. Frank deploys an unusual combination of instruments, such as piccolos and celesta, or a motif—like the short, repeated pulse that sounds like a cry—to create a dreamscape that is all her own.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

Band members received new uniforms, new drums and, most recently, new flutes and piccolos, all of it paid for by the district’s budget for the arts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2024

The orchestra reacts: The piccolos go wild, and the percussionists clash their cymbals and clap their whips.

From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2022

Pining piccolos, flutes and strings were strung through the third with the tension of the suspension bridge.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2022

By seven o'clock the orchestra has arrived--no thin five-piece affair but a whole pitful of oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols and cornets and piccolos and low and high drums.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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