oompah

American  

[oom-pah, oom-] / ˈum pɑ, ˈʊm- /

Also oompah-pah

noun

1. a repetitious bass accompaniment in music typically provided by brasses.

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adjective

1. marked by an oompah.

   oompah band.

oompah British  

/ ˈuːmˌpɑː /

noun

1. a representation of the sound made by a deep brass instrument, esp in military band music

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Etymology

Origin of oompah

First recorded in 1875–80; imitative

Example Sentences

In one experiment, Adrian North and his colleagues at Leicester University alternated the music in a supermarket between French accordion and German oompah tunes.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026

Revellers sit at long communal tables to swig beer, eat sausages, pretzel or pork knuckle, and listen to oompah bands.

From Reuters • Apr. 29, 2022

Can he coax an orchestra to support a singer in a deceptively simple aria with a bare oompah accompaniment?

From New York Times • Apr. 18, 2021

The kitschy exoticism of Fernando and Chiquitita, a marked oompah base for I Have a Dream, and outsized sentimentality for The Winner Takes It All – this is all quintessential schlager.

From The Guardian • Jul. 8, 2020

On top of this accompanying oompah the rag pianists wove a catchy tune that pulled the rhythm around, a technique called syncopation.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall