woodwind

[wood-wind]

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of woodwind¹

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

Example Sentences

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

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

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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.

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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.

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Many attendees said they could relate to Navran’s presentation about finding her own sound after years of singing and playing woodwind instruments, then finally taking the deep dive into music production years later.

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