bagpipes

British

/ ˈbæɡˌpaɪps /

plural noun

any of a family of musical wind instruments in which sounds are produced in reed pipes supplied with air from a bag inflated either by the player's mouth, as in the Irish bagpipes or Highland bagpipes of Scotland, or by arm-operated bellows, as in the Northumbrian bagpipes

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Testing the human animal’s tolerance for plaintive fiddles, wheezy bagpipes, Peter Coyote and the whispery recitations of diary entries, “The American Revolution” is the most Ken Burns-y of Ken Burns series.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

Armed with just a set of bagpipes, the Scotsman played his way into danger when his regiment was in chaos and panic.

From BBC • Nov. 11, 2025

After three hours of worship from Christian music artists, the service opened with bagpipes playing “Amazing Grace.”

From Salon • Sep. 21, 2025

Wahlberg was made aware of the record attempt by his personal assistant, who has a friend who met Jamie at a wedding he was playing bagpipes at.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2025

A single bagpipes or accordion player playing a melody with drones or chords.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023