contrabass

[ kon-truh-beys ]

noun
  1. (in any family of instruments) the member below the bass.

  2. (in the violin family) the double bass.

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of such instruments: a contrabass trombone.

Origin of contrabass

1
From Italian, dating back to 1590–1600; see origin at contrabasso

Other words from contrabass

  • con·tra·bass·ist [kon-truh-bey-sist, -bas-ist], /ˈkɒn trəˌbeɪ sɪst, -ˌbæs ɪst/, noun

Words Nearby contrabass

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use contrabass in a sentence

  • As a contrabass to the rhythm of the blacksmiths hammer, the booming murmur of the sea trembled across the summer air.

    Cursed | George Allan England
  • Down the shaded street the metallic rhythm of the anvil was breaking through the contrabass of the surf.

    Cursed | George Allan England
  • The bombardon in B flat or C, an octave lower than the euphonium, corresponds to the contrabass tuba in the orchestra.

  • The tone was pleasant and full, but not powerful enough for the contrabass register in a military band.

  • Darwin had the contrabass played to an audience of sprouting garden-beans, in order to observe the effect of music on vegetation.

    The Quest | Frederik van Eeden

British Dictionary definitions for contrabass

contrabass

/ (ˌkɒntrəˈbeɪs) /


noun
  1. a member of any of various families of musical instruments that is lower in pitch than the bass

  2. another name for double bass

adjective
  1. of or denoting the instrument of a family that is lower than the bass

Derived forms of contrabass

  • contrabassist (ˌkɒntrəˈbeɪsɪst, -ˈbæs-), noun

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