trombone

noun trom-BOH-neh Rare

Origin: Italian tromba (trumpet) + augmentative -one, large trumpet

Also means

pompous person

Usage Note

Trombone is masculine and refers to the brass instrument with a slide mechanism. Informally, it is also used colloquially to mean a bore or pompous windbag — che trombone! (what a pompous bore!). The plural is tromboni. The related word tromba means trumpet or, colloquially, a braggart.

Examples

"Il trombone dà profondità all'orchestra."

Natural Translation

The trombone gives depth to the orchestra.

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