tuba

[ too-buh, tyoo- ]

noun,plural tu·bas for 1a, b; tu·bae [too-bee, tyoo-] /ˈtu bi, ˈtyu-/ for 1c.
  1. Music.

    • a valved, brass wind instrument having a low range.

    • an organ reed stop of large scale with tones of exceptional power.

    • an ancient Roman trumpet.

  2. Meteorology. funnel cloud.

Origin of tuba

1
1850–55; <Latin: trumpet; akin to tube

Words Nearby tuba

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How to use tuba in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tuba

tuba

/ (ˈtjuːbə) /


nounplural -bas or -bae (-biː)
  1. a valved brass instrument of bass pitch, in which the bell points upwards and the mouthpiece projects at right angles. The tube is of conical bore and the mouthpiece cup-shaped

  2. any other bass brass instrument such as the euphonium, helicon, etc

  1. a powerful reed stop on an organ

  2. a form of trumpet of ancient Rome

Origin of tuba

1
Latin

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

Cultural definitions for tuba

tuba

The lowest-pitched of the brass instruments. In orchestras, the tuba is usually held across the player's lap. In marching bands, the sousaphone is generally used as a low brass instrument because it was designed to be carried.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.