ENGLISH
REFERENCE

saxophone

n. countable
A2 Elementary US //ˈsæksəˌfoʊn// UK //sˈæksəfˌəʊn// sax·o·phone

n. a metal musical instrument that you play by blowing into it and pressing buttons with your fingers. It is very common in jazz music and has a curved shape.

n. a woodwind instrument with a conical metal body and a single-reed mouthpiece. Despite its brass construction, it is classified as a woodwind due to its reed-based sound production.


SIMPLE

He plays the saxophone in a local jazz band.

CONTEXTUAL

The street performer played a soulful melody on his saxophone, drawing a large crowd of tourists.

COMPLEX

While the saxophone is most famously associated with the improvisational freedom of jazz, it was originally designed to bridge the tonal gap between woodwinds and brass in military bands.

Synonyms
Origin

Borrowed from French saxophone, a combination of the surname of its inventor Adolphe Sax (1814–1894) + -o- + -phone (“something that makes a sound”), from Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound, voice”). The first element surname is a variant of the German Sachs (“Saxon”). Analyzable as Sax + -o- + -phone.

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