tuba

[ too-buh, tyoo- ]

noun

, plural tu·bas tu·bae [too, -bee, tyoo, -]

1. Music.
   1. a valved, brass wind instrument having a low range.
   2. an organ reed stop of large scale with tones of exceptional power.
   3. an ancient Roman trumpet.
2. Meteorology. funnel cloud.

tuba

/ ˈtjuːbə /

noun

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
3. a powerful reed stop on an organ
4. a form of trumpet of ancient Rome

tuba

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tuba¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tuba¹

Latin

Example Sentences

My earliest memories of the tuba were growing up hearing Texas Southern University’s marching band.

From Los Angeles Times

Born Brian Keith Flowers, he got his first taste for music in the Royal Air Force in the 1950s, where he served for nine years as a bandsman playing the tuba.

From BBC

Ada Brooks, her mouth dry from nerves, lifted the bell of her euphonium, a smaller relative of the tuba, and prepared to play the notes that could determine her future.

From New York Times

A tuba is also much harder for a thief to pilfer than, say, a piccolo, or even a trumpet.

From New York Times

The wry tubas and trombones that accentuate the opening section.

From Los Angeles Times