Word.ws English Dictionary

sousaphone

Syllables: sou·sa·phone/ˈsuːsəˌfoʊn/

sousaphone noun: a valved brass instrument with the same length as a tuba, but shaped differently so that the bell is above the head, that the valves are situated directly in front of the musical instruments and a few inches above the waist, and that most of the weight rests on one shoulder.

sousaphone: a valved brass instrument with the same length as a tuba, but shaped differently so that the bell...
Image: hugues, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

sousaphone (plural sousaphones)

  1. A valved brass instrument with the same length as a tuba, but shaped differently so that the bell is above the head, that the valves are situated directly in front of the musical instruments and a few inches above the waist, and that most of the weight rests on one shoulder.
    • One version of the large tuba, popular in marching bands, is called a sousaphone in honor of bandsman John Philip Sousa.1990, Thomas D. Rossing, The Science of Sound, page 230

sousaphone meaning in Persian, Thai and Vietnamese

sousaphone in Persian

brass instrument
سوسافون susâfon

sousaphone in Thai

brass instrument
ซูซาโฟน soo-saa-fohn

sousaphone in Vietnamese

brass instrument
kèn sousa

Forms of sousaphone

pluralsousaphones

Origin of sousaphone

Named after American composer and conductor John Philip Sousa + -phone.

Words formed from sousaphone

Questions about sousaphone

What does sousaphone mean?
Sousaphone means a valved brass instrument with the same length as a tuba, but shaped differently so that the bell is above the head, that the valves are situated directly in front of the musical instruments and a few inches above the waist, and that most of the weight rests on one shoulder.
What is sousaphone in Persian?
Sousaphone in Persian is سوسافون (susâfon). See Sousaphone meaning in Persian.
What part of speech is sousaphone?
Sousaphone is a noun.
How do you pronounce sousaphone?
Sousaphone is pronounced /ˈsuːsəˌfoʊn/.
What is the plural of sousaphone?
The plural of sousaphone is sousaphones.

Words near sousaphone in the dictionary

  1. sous-vide
  2. sous-vided
  3. sous-vides
  4. sous-viding
  5. sousa
  6. sousaphone
  7. sousaphones
  8. sousaphonist
  9. sousaphonists
  10. sousas
  11. souse

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sousaphone (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sousaphone.wav.

Cite this entry: “sousaphone.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sousaphone. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.