trombone
/ˌtɹɑmˈboʊn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.97 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A musical instrument in the brass family, having a cylindrical bore, and usually a sliding tube (but sometimes piston valves, and rarely both). Most often refers to the tenor trombone, which is the most common type of trombone and has a fundamental tone of B♭ˌ (contra B♭).
noun
The common European bittern.
verb
To transmit a signal or data back to a central switching point before sending it out to its destination.
Example Sentences
- "Jim plays the trombone very well."
- "This trombone is very expensive."
- "Horns, trumpets, and trombones, both soloistically and sectionally, became central to the orchestral concept... His highly subtle orchestration elevates woodwinds, more often scored soloistically than sectionally."
- "Using the “endangered species” model employed by the World Wide Fund for Nature, campaigners are highlighting the scarcity of bassoonists and paving the way for the promotion of some other orchestral instruments that are under threat, such as the oboe, French horn, viola, trombone and double bass."
- "The trombone […] permits an instrument to be positioned over a studio set wall, enabling the set wall to support the weight of the instrument."
- "The two secondary controls are the trombone handle and the focus knob."
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian trombone, from tromba (“trumpet”) + -one (augmentative), literally “large trumpet”. The telecommunications sense alludes to the shape of the musical instrument.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌtɹɑmˈboʊn/
- British English: /ˌtɹɒmˈbəʊn/