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.

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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

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noun

1. (functioning as plural) woodwind instruments collectively

Etymology

Origin of woodwind

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

Example Sentences

I went through the woodwinds — played saxophone, then I played oboe.

From Los Angeles Times

A woodwind musician, he played traditional Breton music for a Renaissance dance troupe.

From The Wall Street Journal

The striking “Porcelana,” about enduring pain for fleeting pleasure, has a woozy, dissonant arrangement that mixes woodwinds, shrieking strings, and skittering percussion.

From The Wall Street Journal

There was a woodwind virtuoso, Pedro Eustache, making wild and beautiful sounds in an isolated booth with his arsenal of flutes — and out on the stage there was a real, live theremin.

From Los Angeles Times

His hymnal theme begins as a gentle woodwind duet, which is passed to strings and then accelerates into soaring triumph to accompany Bryant’s heyday.

From Los Angeles Times