Illustration of oboe
: a double-reed woodwind instrument having a conical tube, a brilliant penetrating tone, and a usual range from B flat below middle C upward for over 2¹/₂ octaves
Examples of oboe in a Sentence
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Tea is the principal oboe in the wind ensemble and symphony orchestra, and currently the tenor saxophone section leader of the marching band.
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Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 16 Mar. 2025
Wang was hired as principal oboe in September 2006.
—Ronald Blum, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Splendid flutes and oboes left dramatic trails, as did its declarative finish, which hung in the air and commanded a respectful silence.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
The French horn/bassoon/clarinet/oboe/flute quintet Imani Winds is at UConn’s Jorgensen Center.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2024
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Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 16 Mar. 2025
Wang was hired as principal oboe in September 2006.
—Ronald Blum, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Splendid flutes and oboes left dramatic trails, as did its declarative finish, which hung in the air and commanded a respectful silence.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
The French horn/bassoon/clarinet/oboe/flute quintet Imani Winds is at UConn’s Jorgensen Center.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for oboe
Cite this Entry
“Oboe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oboe. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
oboe
noun
: a musical instrument in the form of a slender tube that has a distinctive bright sound and that is played by blowing into a mouthpiece holding two reeds
Etymology
from Italian oboe "oboe," from French hautbois (same meaning), from haut "high" and bois "wood"
Word Origin
The musical instrument we now call an oboe was developed in France in the 17th century. The French called it a hautbois, a word pronounced something like English "o boy" and made up of haut, meaning "high," and bois, meaning "wood." The hautbois was the highest pitched member of a group of woodwind instruments played with a reed. For a time the English simply used the French word for the instrument. Sometimes they spelled it hautbois, sometimes hautboy, and sometimes they changed the spelling to oboy or hoboy. Meanwhile, the Italians took the French word as oboe, a spelling closer to the way they pronounced it. In the 18th century it became fashionable in England to prefer Italian musical terms. The English then started using the form oboe instead of hautbois, and so oboe is the form we use today.
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