- a woodwind instrument, the tenor of the oboe family. Range: about three and a half octaves upwards from the B flat below the bass staff
- an orchestral musician who plays the bassoon
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
bas•soon /bæˈsun, bə-/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Music and Dancea large woodwind instrument of low range.
bas•soon
(ba so̅o̅n′, bə-),USA pronunciation n.
bas•soon′ist, n.
- Music and Dancea large woodwind instrument of low range, with a doubled tube and a curved metal crook to which a double reed is attached.
- Italian bassone (bass(o) low (see base2) + -one augmentative suffix)
- French basson
- 1720–30
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
bassoon /bəˈsuːn/ n
'bassoon' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
continuo
- contrabassoon
- double bassoon
- oboe
- tenor clef
- bass horn
- curtal
- -oon
- ranket
- solo