noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˌklæɹɪˈnɛt/
/ˌklɛɹɪˈnɛt/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛt
CMU ARPABET:K L EH2 R AH0 N EH1 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A woodwind musical instrument that has a distinctive liquid tone whose characteristics vary among its three registers: chalumeau (low), clarion (medium), and altissimo (high).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: agony-pipe
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a single-reed instrument with a straight tube
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Borrowed from Italian clarinetto, diminutive of clarino (“trumpet”) (as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet), from Latin clarus. Alternatively, the word may come from French clarinette, diminutive form of clarine (“bell”), from clarin, from clair (“clear”), from Latin clarus.
Across languages
Translations
91 source translations are retained for this English entry.
