woodwind

[ woo d-wind ]
/ ˈwʊdˌwɪnd /

noun

a musical wind instrument of the group comprising the flutes, clarinets, oboes, bassoons, and occasionally, the saxophones.
woodwinds, the section of an orchestra or band comprising the woodwind instruments.

adjective

of, relating to, or composed of woodwinds.

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Origin of woodwind

First recorded in 1875–80; wood1 + wind3

Words nearby woodwind

woodtone, woodturner, woodville, woodward, woodwaxen, woodwind, woodwinds, woodwork, woodworker, woodworking, woodworm
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for woodwinds

British Dictionary definitions for woodwinds

woodwind
/ (ˈwʊdˌwɪnd) music /

adjective

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

(functioning as plural) woodwind instruments collectively
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for woodwinds

woodwinds

A group of wind instruments with a softer tone than that of brass instruments. Woodwind players do not set the air in their instruments in motion by blowing through their closed lips against a cup-shaped mouthpiece, as players of brass instruments do. In woodwinds, the players insert the mouthpiece into their mouths and blow while pressing their lips against a single or double reed. Bassoons, clarinets, oboes, and saxophones are played in this way. In other woodwinds, the player blows across a hole (fifes, flutes, and piccolos) or into a whistlelike mouthpiece (recorders).

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.