- pronunciation:
- rid
- features:
- Homophone Note, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
Reeds are tall grass plants that grow in wet areas like marshes or swamps. They have tough stems that are straight and hollow.
We saw an unusual duck in the pond, but then it disappeared into the reeds.People sometimes weave baskets out of dried reeds. |
| definition 2: |
Clarinets, saxophones, and certain other wind instruments use something called a "reed." A reed looks like a very thin piece of wood. On a clarinet or saxophone, the reed covers most of the opening where air is blown through the instrument from the player's mouth. The reed is made of material that comes from a woody kind of grass plant.
When a player blows air into a clarinet, the reed vibrates. The vibrating of the reed creates the sound of the instrument.Like clarinets and saxophones, oboes and bassoons also use reeds, but their reeds are "double reeds." A double reed is made up of two thin pieces joined together to make a kind of flat tube.
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| related words: |
cane, instrument |
Are you looking for the word
read (what one does with a book)?
Reed and
read sound alike but have different meanings.