trombone

American  

[trom-bohn, trom-bohn] / trɒmˈboʊn, ˈtrɒm boʊn /

noun

• trombones
  plural

1. 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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trombone British  

/ trɒmˈbəʊn /

noun

1. 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)

2. a person who plays this instrument in an orchestra

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trombone Cultural  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• trombonist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• trombones
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of trombone

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

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Explanation

A trombone is a brass musical instrument with a sliding bar that changes the pitch of the notes. You play a trombone by blowing in the mouthpiece and moving the slide. A trombone looks a bit like an extra-long trumpet, and in fact the word comes from the Italian tromba, "trumpet," and the suffix -one, "large." Like trumpet players, trombone players (also called trombonists) use embouchure, a method of holding the mouth, lips, tongue, and teeth as they blow into the mouthpiece.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trombone trombones

Parent Anney Barrett said she worried her then-fifth-grade son, who plays trombone, would lose the opportunity to perform in a band.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Barrett, the parent whose son plays trombone, brought her grade-school daughter Helen, who said kids were already losing out after wellness classes were cut.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

And Harvey has a secret talent for playing trombone.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

We also included instruments like the bassoon, the harp, the trombone and obviously the saxophone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

After eight years, she was reinstated as first trombone.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Tenor Martin Luther Clark was bent on erasing Don Ottavio’s usual wimpiness, sometimes to excess; Daniel Mobbs was insufficiently scary as the Commendatore, despite help from the trombones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Hundreds of protesters stood outside in subzero temperatures and made as much noise as possible—banging pots, blowing whistles, drumming on buckets, blowing trombones and trumpets.

From Slate ● Feb. 11, 2026

It could be said eight violins, four violas, four cellos, three trumpets, three trombones, two guitars, and a choir of fourteen women were what finally broke up The Beatles.

From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2024

“And I thought that by injecting some of that high clarinet, the muted trombones and the piano groove, I would take the audience back to that era without playing jazz.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024

All of us except for Fern waved furiously as the trumpets, trombones, tubas, flutes, and percussion instruments played the marching tune.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

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