woodwind

American  

[wood-wind] / ˈwʊdˌwɪnd /

noun

1. a musical wind instrument of the group comprising the flutes, clarinets, oboes, bassoons, and occasionally, the saxophones.

2. woodwinds, the section of an orchestra or band comprising the woodwind instruments.

---

adjective

1. of, relating to, or composed of woodwinds.

woodwind British  

/ ˈwʊdˌwɪnd /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or denoting a type of wind instrument, excluding the brass instruments, formerly made of wood but now often made of metal, such as the flute or clarinet

---

noun

1. (functioning as plural) woodwind instruments collectively

Etymology

Origin of woodwind

First recorded in 1875–80; wood ¹ + wind ³

Explanation

A woodwind is a type of musical instrument that you play by blowing into its mouthpiece. Flutes, clarinets, and oboes are all woodwinds. So are bagpipes—but you might have a hard time convincing your music teacher to let you play bagpipes in the marching band. Most woodwinds have a mouthpiece with a thin strip of material called a reed that vibrates when air passes. Blowing into a saxophone or clarinet is different than blowing across the opening in a flute or piccolo, but they're all woodwinds. Each requires wind, or a stream of blown air, to play notes. While today most woodwinds are made from metal and other materials, the original woodwinds were wooden—which explains the wood part of the name.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

woodwind

Caminos played percussive and woodwind instruments as I meditated, moving them from one side of my head to the other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

A woodwind ensemble overlooked Park La Brea through floor-to-ceiling glass; a choir stacked harmonies that floated over the span of the structure as it crossed Wilshire Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2025

And last year, it made an unlikely star of musician Pedro Eustache, when his passionate woodwind solo went viral, earning him the nickname "Flute Guy".

From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2023

The former rap star has even just released his new album "New Blue Sun" which is entirety played on different woodwind instruments but primarily on the flute.

From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2023

“Our families are the strings family, the woodwind family, the brass family, and the percussion family.”

From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson