Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

French horn

noun

Definition of French horn

  1. :  a circular valved brass instrument having a conical bore, a funnel-shaped mouthpiece, and a usual range from B below the bass staff upward for more than three octaves

See French horn defined for English-language learners

See French horn defined for kids

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

alt-597b460515453
Trending: Trump: Let Obamacare 'Implode'
image2136071978
Tech-y Terms Are Older Than You Think
alt-597a99e699d07
July 2017 Words of the Day Quiz
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Illustration of french horn

First Known Use of french horn

1682

FRENCH HORN Defined for English Language Learners

French horn

noun

Definition of French horn for English Language Learners

  • : a brass musical instrument that has a long tube which forms a circle and has a wide opening at one end

Learn More about french horn

  1. See words that rhyme with French horn Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about French horn

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up French horn? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

melee

play

a confused struggle

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. implode How does implode differ from explode?

  2. ballistic What makes a missile ballistic?

  3. transgender Trump reverses military policy allowing transgender people to serve

  4. beleaguer 'Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment'

  5. scaramouch A new White House communications director

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

French horn

Test Your Vocabulary

July 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

  • alt-597a99e699d07
  • Which is a synonym of gauche?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-597a2ef226ea8
Are You Craving 'Ice Tea' or 'Iced Tea'?

When tea is cold and refreshing, is it 'ice tea' or 'iced tea'?

image2136071978
9 Surprising Word Histories of Computer Terms

People have been blogging since the 18th century.

alt-597a00ef4b9d7
'Motif' vs 'Leitmotif'

A pattern emerges.

alt-5978b44edfb13
Our (Almost) Final Word on 'Penultimate'

The ultimate guide to using penultimate.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

alt-597a99e699d07
July 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Test your knowledge.

Take the quiz
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Dictionary Devil
Dictionary Devil

The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?

Play the game