tuba

American  

[too-buh, tyoo-] / ˈtu bə, ˈtyu- /

noun

tubas, plural tubae plural

1. Music.

   1. a valved, brass wind instrument having a low range.

   2. an organ reed stop of large scale with tones of exceptional power.

   3. an ancient Roman trumpet.

2. Meteorology. funnel cloud.

---

tuba British  

/ ˈtjuːbə /

noun

1. a valved brass instrument of bass pitch, in which the bell points upwards and the mouthpiece projects at right angles. The tube is of conical bore and the mouthpiece cup-shaped

2. any other bass brass instrument such as the euphonium, helicon, etc

3. a powerful reed stop on an organ

4. a form of trumpet of ancient Rome

---

tuba Cultural  

1. The lowest-pitched of the brass instruments. In orchestras, the tuba is usually held across the player's lap. In marching bands, the sousaphone is generally used as a low brass instrument because it was designed to be carried.

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• tubae
  plural
• tubas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tuba

1850–55; < Latin: trumpet; akin to tube

Explanation

A tuba is a large brass instrument that you play by blowing into its mouthpiece. In a marching band, the tuba player plays the lowest, deepest notes (and also has to lug around her tuba). The tuba is the biggest, and among the newest, of all the brass instruments. Tuba players create the low-pitched sound by making a kind of "buzz" with their breath against the mouthpiece and pressing the tuba's valves to form notes. In an orchestra, a tuba player holds the instrument on her lap, while a tuba player in a marching band would use a sousaphone tuba, or helicon, a lighter tuba that can be worn across a shoulder.

Example Sentences

Growing up in south Florida, André started taking piano lessons when he was 5, and played tuba in middle school and cello in high school.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Trombones bleat, a tuba bellows, drums are the heart.

From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025

Banished to the orchestra’s back row, the tuba is rarely highlighted on its own.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

Bell’s 1957 album, “Bill Bell and His Tuba,” was as influential for tuba players as Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix were for jazz musicians and electric-guitar players.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025

I trot out excuses: homework, strict parents, tuba practice, late-night dentist appointment, have to feed the warthogs.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson