trumpet

American  

[truhm-pit] / ˈtrʌm pɪt /

noun

• trumpets
  plural

1. Music.

   1. any of a family of brass wind instruments with a powerful, penetrating tone, consisting of a tube commonly curved once or twice around on itself and having a cup-shaped mouthpiece at one end and a flaring bell at the other.

   2. an organ stop having a tone resembling that of a trumpet.

   3. a trumpeter.

2. something used as or resembling a trumpet, especially in sound.

3. a sound like that of a trumpet.

4. the loud shrill cry of an animal, especially an elephant.

5. ear trumpet.

6. trumpets, any of several pitcher plants of the southeastern U.S.

---

verb (used without object)

• trumpets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trumpeted,
  past participle,  past
• trumpeting
  present participle

1. to blow a trumpet.

2. to emit a loud, trumpetlike cry, as an elephant.

verb (used with object)

• trumpets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trumpeted,
  past participle,  past
• trumpeting
  present participle

1. to sound on a trumpet.

2. to utter with a sound like that of a trumpet.

3. to proclaim loudly or widely.

trumpet British  

/ ˈtrʌmpɪt /

noun

1. a valved brass instrument of brilliant tone consisting of a narrow tube of cylindrical bore ending in a flared bell, normally pitched in B flat. Range: two and a half octaves upwards from F sharp on the fourth line of the bass staff

2. any instrument consisting of a valveless tube ending in a bell, esp a straight instrument used for fanfares, signals, etc

3. a person who plays a trumpet in an orchestra

4. a loud sound such as that of a trumpet, esp when made by an animal

   the trumpet of the elephants

5. an eight-foot reed stop on an organ

6. something resembling a trumpet in shape, esp in having a flared bell

7. short for ear trumpet

8. to boast about oneself; brag

---

verb

1. to proclaim or sound loudly

trumpet Cultural  

1. A brass instrument with a brilliant tone, much used in classical music, as well as in military music and jazz.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• trumpet-like
  adjective
• trumpetless
  adjective
• trumpetlike
  adjective
• untrumpeted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• trumpets
  plural

Participles

• trumpeting
  present
• trumpeted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• trumpet
  simple
• trumpets
  simple
• have trumpeted
  perfect
• has trumpeted
  perfect
• am trumpeting
  progressive
• are trumpeting
  progressive
• is trumpeting
  progressive
• have been trumpeting
  perfect progressive
• has been trumpeting
  perfect progressive

Past

• trumpeted
  simple
• had trumpeted
  perfect
• was trumpeting
  progressive
• were trumpeting
  progressive
• had been trumpeting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will trumpet
  simple
• will have trumpeted
  perfect
• will be trumpeting
  progressive
• will have been trumpeting
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of trumpet

1300–50; Middle English trumpette, trompette < French, equivalent to trompe trump ² + -ette -et

---

Explanation

A trumpet is a brass instrument that you play by blowing into its mouthpiece and pressing valves to form notes. If your older brother has trouble getting up in the morning, you can help him out by practicing your trumpet outside his bedroom door at six a.m. Trumpets fall under the category of brass instruments, along with tubas and saxophones. When you play a trumpet, you need to use something called embouchure, the proper shaping of your mouth and lips so your breath buzzes against the mouthpiece in just the right way. Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis were famous jazz trumpet players. As a verb, to trumpet is to announce something very loudly, as if you were playing it on a trumpet.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trumpet trumpets trumpeted trumpeting

Collins, more than most appropriators, likes to trumpet the dollars she brings home.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

That lonely trumpet, though, is but one element in Mr. Adams’s kaleidoscopic evocation of a once-unimaginable act.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

But the tracks are enriched with synthesizers, violin, flute, trumpet and clarinet — all five members are multi-instrumentalists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Sachie Mikawa said she was "heartbroken" when her trumpet, gifted to her by her late father, and her vintage melodica went missing from the Rotunda Theatre earlier this week.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

She picks up the trumpet, and when she presses her lips to the brass, her three fingers make a loud parade of blaring notes.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

The enigmatic trumpets sounded at the film’s beginning re-enter, their meaning now terribly clear; the orchestra convulses and collapses, and Alex marches upstairs, shown in an aerial shot punctuated with doleful timpani.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

In the pop melody “Volveré,” she questions where her heart will remain once she leaves town, as muffled trumpets chime in at the outro.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

There are brief Mexican accents, such as the mariachi-style trumpets that precede the market scene.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

Not a day goes by that I don’t read a headline that trumpets the shortage of estrogen patches, which are used to treat the bothersome symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026

Horns were blown and trumpets were braying, and the mûmakil were bellowing as they were goaded to war.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Prices dropped so low—often $3 or less for a 9-ounce container—that state media trumpeted an era of “blueberry freedom,” in which even ordinary people can gorge on a once-exotic fruit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

We trumpeted their classy goals and their adventurous play a week ago and wrongly assumed that they had gumption to go with it.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

When they landed the diving competition for the 2028 Summer Olympics last year, operators of the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena trumpeted it as a gold-medal achievement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

While the tech has changed since then, the principles the court trumpeted today are evergreen.

From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026

A Negro rifle club that had been in existence for over twelve years in Harlem had been “discovered” by the police; it was being trumpeted that I was “behind it.”

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Despite trumpeting pan-African and pro-independence messages, all three have welcomed Russian mercenaries to help fight jihadists loyal to either Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group, who have run rampant across the three countries.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

But it wasn’t just Fox News trumpeting the study.

From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026

And a triumphant U.S. president trumpeting a quick and easy campaign.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026

But this year I started receiving emails in late September trumpeting an imminent Santa Claus rally.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2025

Where the press fell short, Howard and the Buick management filled in by papering the city with full-page ads and brochures trumpeting every win.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• advertise
• proclaim
• publish
• tout

---