trombone

[trom-bohn, trom-bohn]

noun

1. a musical wind instrument consisting of a cylindrical metal tube expanding into a bell and bent twice in a U shape, usually equipped with a slide slide trombone.

trombone

/ trɒmˈbəʊn /

noun

1. a brass instrument, a low-pitched counterpart of the trumpet, consisting of a tube the effective length of which is varied by means of a U-shaped slide. The usual forms of this instrument are the tenor trombone (range: about two and a half octaves upwards from E) and the bass trombone (pitched a fourth lower)

2. a person who plays this instrument in an orchestra

trombone

1. A brass instrument; the player can change its pitch by sliding one part of the tube in and out of the other. The tone of the trombone is mellower than that of the trumpet.

Other Word Forms

• trombonist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of trombone¹

1715–25; < Italian, equivalent to tromb ( a ) trumpet (< Provençal < Germanic; compare Old High German trumpa, trumba horn, trumpet) + -one augmentative suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of trombone¹

C18: from Italian, from tromba a trumpet, from Old High German trumba

Example Sentences

“And then influenced the world, because after that all the pawn shops got rid of their trombones.”

From Los Angeles Times

For someone who prizes roadside Americana, this is the visual version of the sad trombone sound.

From Los Angeles Times

But I put a trombone next to those bad boys.

From Los Angeles Times

It could be said eight violins, four violas, four cellos, three trumpets, three trombones, two guitars, and a choir of fourteen women were what finally broke up The Beatles.

From BBC

“And I thought that by injecting some of that high clarinet, the muted trombones and the piano groove, I would take the audience back to that era without playing jazz.”

From Los Angeles Times