trombone

[ trom-bohn, trom-bohn ]

/ trɒmˈboʊn, ˈtrɒm boʊn /

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noun

a musical wind instrument consisting of a cylindrical metal tube expanding into a bell and bent twice in a U shape, usually equipped with a slide (slide trombone ).

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Origin of trombone

1715–25; <Italian, equivalent to tromb(a) trumpet (<Provençal <Germanic; compare Old High German trumpa, trumba horn, trumpet) + -one augmentative suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM trombone

trom·bon·ist

[trom-boh-nist, trom-boh-], /trɒmˈboʊ nɪst, ˈtrɒm boʊ-/, noun

Words nearby trombone

Trombicula, trombiculiasis, trombiculid, Trombiculidae, trombidiasis, trombone, tromethamine, trommel, tromp, trompe, trompe l'oeil

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

How to use trombone in a sentence

Oboes, trombones and especially trumpets were all higher risk, spreading more aerosols than a person speaking.
What science tells us about reducing coronavirus spread from wind instruments|Betsy Ladyzhets|August 6, 2021|Science News
As a teen, she studied trombone and later started a local swing band.
Ethel Gabriel, trailblazing producer and executive at RCA Records, dies at 99|Terence McArdle|April 12, 2021|Washington Post
There was never any one criterion for how every trombone or tenor saxophone or singer should sound.
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest|Nat Hentoff|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead of spoofing it, Farmer Derek plays it on trombone in an open field.
Viral Video of the Day: Farmer Summons Cattle With ‘Royals’ Cover|Alex Chancey|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST

While his trombone skills are decent, he certainly draws a crowd—or rather, a herd.
Viral Video of the Day: Farmer Summons Cattle With ‘Royals’ Cover|Alex Chancey|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All you had to do was board with your submachine gun in a trombone case, as Martin McNally did at St. Louis airport in 1972.
When Hijackers Ruled the American Skies|Emma Garman|June 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Nino opens a trunk and begins extracting props—balloons, a cane, and a battered old trombone.
Giovanni Zoppé’s Real-Life Family Circus|Malcolm Jones|October 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
At the present time he was trombone in the “Tournée Gulland,” a touring opera company.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
A unique novelty was the Contra Trombone on the Pedal of 64 feet actual length.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
Within Average Jones' overstocked mind something stirred at the repetition of the words "B-flat trombone."
Average Jones|Samuel Hopkins Adams
"I can play the B-flat trombone louder as any man in the business," asserted Schlichting with proud conviction.
Average Jones|Samuel Hopkins Adams
I came back––in tights, playing a big trombone, prancing round and making an awful noise.
The Cup of Fury|Rupert Hughes

British Dictionary definitions for trombone

trombone

/ (trɒmˈbəʊn) /

noun

a brass instrument, a low-pitched counterpart of the trumpet, consisting of a tube the effective length of which is varied by means of a U-shaped slide. The usual forms of this instrument are the tenor trombone (range: about two and a half octaves upwards from E) and the bass trombone (pitched a fourth lower)

a person who plays this instrument in an orchestra

Derived forms of trombone

trombonist, noun

Word Origin for trombone

C18: from Italian, from tromba a trumpet, from Old High German trumba

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 trombone

trombone

A brass instrument; the player can change its pitch by sliding one part of the tube in and out of the other. The tone of the trombone is mellower than that of the trumpet.