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oompah

American

[oom-pah, oom-] / ˈum pɑ, ˈʊm- /

Also oompah-pah

noun

a repetitious bass accompaniment in music typically provided by brasses.

adjective

marked by an oompah.

oompah band.

oompah British

/ ˈuːmˌpɑː /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of oompah

First recorded in 1875–80; imitative

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.

Facing intense criticism was not new for Scotland head coach Steve Clarke when his dejected players left Germany to the sound of a Bavarian oompah band after a deflating Euros campaign in the summer.

From BBC • Nov. 18, 2024

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

Encore is strong, musically, with an unexpectedly broader palette that takes in disco, funk and oompah as well as reggae.

From The Guardian • Feb. 3, 2019

Some offer traditional oompah music — an ensemble of brass, woodwinds, accordion, and drums.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 29, 2017

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

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