trumpet

noun trum·pet \ ˈtrəm-pət \

Definition of trumpet

1 a :a wind instrument consisting of a conical or cylindrical usually metal tube, a cup-shaped mouthpiece, and a flared bell; specifically :a valved brass instrument having a cylindrical tube with two turns and a usual range from F sharp below middle C upward for 2¹/₂ octaves

b :a musical instrument (such as a cornet) resembling a trumpet

2 :a trumpet player

3 :something that resembles a trumpet or its tonal quality: such as

a :a funnel-shaped instrument (such as a megaphone) for collecting, directing, or intensifying sound

b (1) :a stentorian voice

(2) :a penetrating cry (as of an elephant)

—

trumpetlike

adjective

See trumpet defined for English-language learners

See trumpet defined for kids

Examples of trumpet in a Sentence

the trumpet of a flower

Recent Examples of trumpet from the Web

Hart first met Isbell at a high school marching band competition - Isbell played trumpet for Florence's Rogers High and Hart played bass and tuba for Sheffield High.

— matt wake, AL.com, "How Jason Isbell's 400 Unit became the E Street Band of their era," 23 Aug. 2017
But Andrews now spends nearly as much time on stage blowing his trumpet as his trombone.

— george varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Trombone Shorty happy to toot horns for rich New Orleans music traditions," 22 Aug. 2017
Gary Grant and Hey himself played trumpet, with Bill Reichenbach on trombone.

— darryn king, HWD, "The Story of the DuckTales Theme, History’s Catchiest Single Minute of Music," 9 Aug. 2017
Cavanaugh, a 20-year-old junior from McPherson, played trumpet.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "After a tire blowout, K-State band members play ‘Wabash Cannonball’ in a pickup," 1 Aug. 2017
And buuuuuuuuuurrppppfffffff The loudest trumpet comes out of my ass.

— laura beck, Cosmopolitan, "This Woman's Story About Farting in a Yoga Class Will Make You Laugh Till You Cry," 23 July 2017
Dolores's second son Wynton Marsalis, whose mastery of both jazz and classical trumpet earned him a Pulitzer Prize and a position as director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, recalled that his mother reigned over a rambunctious household.

— doug maccash, NOLA.com, "Dolores Ferdinand Marsalis, mother of jazz greats, dies at 80," 19 July 2017
Shell trumpet sound by Alejandro Méndez courtesy of International Study Group of Music Archaeology.

— giorgia guglielmi, Science | AAAS, "This conch shell trumpet would be heard far and wide in the ancient world," 14 July 2017
Music teachers showed children how to properly hold and play a variety of instruments, including a child-sized violin, cello, guitar, ukulele and tambourine and well as a full-size flute, keyboard, trumpet and trombone.

— denise linke, Aurora Beacon-News, "Geneva's Swedish Days visitors experiment with magnetism, electricity," 22 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'trumpet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of trumpet

Origin and Etymology of trumpet

Middle English trompette, from Anglo-French, from trumpe trump

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

trumpet

verb

Definition of trumpet

intransitive verb

1 :to blow a trumpet

2 :to make a sound suggestive of that of a trumpet

transitive verb

:to sound or proclaim on or as if on a trumpet

trumpet the news

See trumpet defined for English-language learners

Examples of trumpet in a Sentence

He likes to trumpet his own achievements.
The law was trumpeted as a solution to everything.

Recent Examples of trumpet from the Web

Related: While the closing may have seemed inevitable since the Detroit Pistons trumpeted their move downtown, today's announcement is the first conclusive word on the Palace's fate.

— brian mccollum, Detroit Free Press, "Confirmed: Palace of Auburn Hills is closing; Bob Seger to be final event," 24 Aug. 2017
The Obama Administration invested $84 million in the technology, and in a rare act of bipartisanship, one of those investments has been trumpeted by current Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "How Does Clean Coal Work?," 23 Aug. 2017
White supremacists gathered in Virginia last weekend to trumpet racial hatred and anti-Semitism.

— phillip morris, cleveland.com, "A dozen Browns kneel in prayer and protest: Phillip Morris," 23 Aug. 2017
Currencies are proxy for politics as QE distorts stocks, bonds In 2017, dollar is a big loser against all 16 major currencies President Donald Trump loves to trumpet the record run in U.S. stocks.

— lananh nguyen, Bloomberg.com, "Political Drama Is Hitting the Dollar Hard," 30 July 2017
Initially shrouded in secrecy, Blue Origin has lately been much more willing to trumpet its accomplishments, including recent successful tests of its New Shepard spacecraft.

— lisa marie segarra, Fortune, "Spaceships and Newspapers: How Jeff Bezos Spends His Money," 27 July 2017
The new government trumpeted programmes to supercharge foreign investment, support industry and deliver better services.

— The Economist, "The elephant in its labyrinthIn the race with its tricky neighbour, India has recently been winning," 22 July 2017
Some were eager to trumpet their numbers; others downplayed the figures.

— greg bluestein, ajc, "The race for Georgia governor already tops $7.4M," 11 July 2017
Its 2015 annual report, for example, trumpeted the financing of a big supermarket in Côte d’Ivoire as typical of its contribution to African development.

— The Economist, "A long reckoningBNP Paribas faces accusations over the Rwandan genocide," 5 July 2017

First Known Use of trumpet

1530

trumpet Synonyms

TRUMPET Defined for English Language Learners

trumpet

noun

Definition of trumpet for English Language Learners

: a brass musical instrument that you blow into that has three buttons which you press to play different notes
: something shaped like a trumpet

trumpet

verb

Definition of trumpet for English Language Learners

: to praise (something) loudly and publicly especially in a way that is annoying
: to make a sound like a trumpet

TRUMPET Defined for Kids

trumpet

noun trum·pet \ ˈtrəm-pət \

Definition of trumpet for Students

1 :a brass musical instrument that consists of a tube formed into a long loop with a wide opening at one end and that has valves by which different tones are produced

2 :something that is shaped like a trumpet