single-reed woodwind

6.4

A wind instrument that uses one reed to make sound, like a clarinet or saxophone

noun

: madera de lengüeta simple

The clarinet is a well-known single-reed woodwind used in orchestras and bands.

Examples

Can you play a single-reed woodwind like the clarinet?
The single-reed woodwind is a popular choice in jazz bands.
Saxophones, as single-reed woodwind instruments, are common in jazz music.
She preferred playing single-reed woodwind instruments over brass ones.
The clarinet is a well-known single-reed woodwind used in orchestras and bands.
Saxophones, as single-reed woodwind instruments, are common in jazz music.
She preferred playing single-reed woodwind instruments over brass ones.

Synonyms

single-reed instrument

vssingle-reed woodwind

4.5

A musical instrument like a clarinet or saxophone that makes sound when air passes one reed

is the more specific term that names its wind instrument family

Surface Forms

single-reed woodwind singular

single-reed woodwinds plural

Morphology

single-reed + woodwind

The phrase is fully compositional: 'single-reed' (one vibrating reed) modifies 'woodwind' (an air-blown instrument), so the meaning 'a woodwind instrument that uses one reed' is directly derivable from its parts. This modifier+noun pattern is a standard and cross-linguistically common construction, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Single-reed woodwind comes from the thin piece of cane called a reed that sits on the mouthpiece, and the word single shows there is only one reed that vibrates to make 'sound'. That's why the phrase refers to instruments like the clarinet and saxophone.