oboe

[ oh-boh ]

/ ˈoʊ boʊ /

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noun

a woodwind instrument having a slender conical, tubular body and a double-reed mouthpiece.

(in an organ) a reed stop with a sound like that of an oboe.

(a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter O.)

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Origin of oboe

1690–1700; <Italian <French hautbois, equivalent to haut high + bois wood; see hautboy

Words nearby oboe

obloquy, obmutescence, obnounce, obnoxious, obnubilate, oboe, oboe da caccia, oboe d'amore, oboe d'amour, oboist, obol

Other definitions for oboe (2 of 2)

oboe²

[ oh-boh ]

/ ˈoʊ boʊ /

noun (sometimes initial capital letter)

a navigation system utilizing two radar ground stations that measure the distance to an aircraft and then radio the information to the aircraft.

Origin of oboe

First recorded in 1940–45; special use of oboe¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use oboe in a sentence

For Kirke it was being paid to pretend to play the oboe that heightened her affair with classical music.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Boring math geniuses, oboe-playing poets, and rich kids from New York need not apply.
Dirty Secrets of College Admissions|Kathleen Kingsbury|January 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Rich kids from New York, boring Asian math geniuses, and oboe-playing poets need not apply.
Dirty Secrets of College Admissions|Kathleen Kingsbury|January 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST
A musical prodigy, seven years old, who will order the fifth oboe out of the Albert Hall as soon as look at him.
Punch, or the London Charivari, May 13, 1914|Various

It is the timid oboe that sounds the A for the orchestra to tune by.
How to Listen to Music, 7th ed.|Henry Edward Krehbiel
The young man in the red velvet cap plays on the violoncello; the other on the oboe, of which only the reed is visible.
A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools|Various
He also had lessons in the vestry room of the Octagon Chapel; and he acquired some skill upon the flute and oboe from Mr. Fish.
A Comprehensive History of Norwich|A. D. Bayne
An oboe of ivory, carved by Anciuti in Milan, beginning of the eighteenth century.
Musical Myths and Facts, Volume I (of 2)|Carl Engel

British Dictionary definitions for oboe

oboe

/ (ˈəʊbəʊ) /

noun

a woodwind instrument of the family that includes the bassoon and cor anglais, consisting of a conical tube fitted with a mouthpiece having a double reed. It has a penetrating nasal tone. Range: about two octaves plus a sixth upwards from B flat below middle C

a person who plays this instrument in an orchestrasecond oboe

Archaic form: hautboy

Derived forms of oboe

oboist, noun

Word Origin for oboe

C18: via Italian oboe, phonetic approximation to French haut bois, literally: high wood (referring to its pitch)

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 oboe

oboe

A woodwind instrument played with a double reed; similar to a bassoon, but pitched higher. Some describe its tone as nasal.

notes for oboe

The oboe appears frequently as a solo instrument in symphonies and other kinds of classical music.