timbre

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
“
I don’t see why he didn’t shoot a tramp if he had to shoot somethin He wa’n’t tryin’ to shoot a cook, ’pears like," then cried Lucinda—Lucinda’s voice, be it said, en passant_, was of that sibilant and penetrating timbre which is best illustrated in the accents of a steamfitter’s file—"’pears like he was tryin’ for a cat Not a bat," said her mistress correctively; "it was a cat.

View all »
Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun The combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (5)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • His voice has that same timbre, and he can play the hell out of a guitar.
  • For all its adolescent timbre, the rabbi's voice was compelling, bringing emotion to the time-worn lines. —  Lippman, Laura - [Tess Monaghan 01] - Baltimore Blues
  • It radiated feeling-tones that rattled the air with their timbre, and Quath suddenly understood.
  • The way we walk becomes as much a part of our individual identify as the timbre of our voices--distinct, perceptual reflections of who we are and how we happen to be feeling at any given moment. —  Omni: January 1993
  • The low Rutherford is always the case with peculiar timbre, and Tony Banks, well, what about that guy? —  Latest reviews @ Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
More examples »
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 168 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

intonation ·  drawl ·  contralto ·  cadence ·  inflection ·  loudness ·  resonance ·  lilt ·  purr ·  undertone ·  overtone ·  twang
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French, from Old French, drum, clapperless bell, probably from Medieval Greek *timbanon, drum, from Greek tumpanon, kettledrum.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English timbre, from Old French timbre, tymbre, a drum, from Latin tympanum, a drum: see tympan, tympanum. Cf. timbrel and timbre.
  2. from French timbre, timbre, a drum: see timbre.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/ˈtɪmbər/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word a few times a year.

Recently looked up

ovary · bimodal · Genie · Philander · evangelist

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

eu oi oìa u ou e u oìa · the octopi are dry · Kansas City · spell it rite · put it in your pocket