noun

saxophone

SAK-suh-fohn

noun

A brass wind instrument with a single reed, curved body, and upturned bell, common in jazz and marching bands.

"She played a soulful saxophone solo halfway through the song."

"The saxophone was invented in the 1840s but is a fixture of modern jazz."

A person who plays the saxophone.

"Their band needed a saxophone for the new arrangement."

How to Use Saxophone

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA curved brass reed instrument, best known from jazz music, despite being classed as a woodwind.

Memory tip

It looks and sounds like brass but is technically a woodwind instrument because it uses a reed.

Trace the full origin ↓

Common pairings

play the saxophone saxophone solo alto saxophone tenor saxophone

saxophoned past tense, saxophones plural, saxophones singular

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Can you complete this real example?

She played a soulful _____ solo halfway through the song.

Named after its inventor, the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax, combined with the Greek-derived ending "-phone" meaning "sound."

one bone done gone none tone lone hone cone zone Sone stone