Meanings
nouncontrabass (plural contrabasses)
plural contrabasses
- Any of the several contrabass instruments.
- The person or instrument performing the contrabass part.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivepitched an octave below normal bass instrumental or vocal range
Similar
nounlargest and lowest member of the violin family
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Italiancontrabbasso
- Englishcontrabass
From Italian contrabbasso, from contra (“against”) + basso (“low”).
More words from Italian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish kontrabas
- kontrabaspart or section one octave lower than bass
Dutch contrabas
- contrabaspart or section one octave lower than bass
Finnish kontrabasso, kontrabasso
- kontrabassopart or section one octave lower than bass
- kontrabassoperson or instrument performing the contrabass part
French contrebasse
- contrebassepart or section one octave lower than bass
German Kontrabass
- Kontrabasspart or section one octave lower than bass
Italian contrabbasso
- contrabbassopart or section one octave lower than bass
Japanese コントラバス
- コントラバス (kontorabasu)part or section one octave lower than bass
Portuguese contrabaixo
- contrabaixopart or section one octave lower than bass
Russian контраба́с
- контраба́с (kontrabás)part or section one octave lower than bass
Spanish contrabajo
- contrabajopart or section one octave lower than bass
Swedish kontrabas
- kontrabaspart or section one octave lower than bass
Cite this entry
APA
contrabass. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contrabass
MLA
“contrabass.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contrabass. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “contrabass,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contrabass.
Source: contrabass on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.