Meanings
nounsousaphone (plural sousaphones)
plural sousaphones
- 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
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Named after American composer and conductor John Philip Sousa + -phone.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan sousàfon
- sousàfonbrass instrument
Czech suzafon
- suzafonbrass instrument
Dutch sousafoon
- sousafoonbrass instrument
Esperanto suzafono, marŝtubjo
- suzafonobrass instrument
- marŝtubjobrass instrument
Finnish sousafoni
- sousafonibrass instrument
French soubassophone
- soubassophonebrass instrument
German Sousafon, Sousaphon
- Sousafonbrass instrument
- Sousaphonbrass instrument
Hebrew סוזאפון, סוּזָפוֹן
- סוזאפוןbrass instrument
- סוּזָפוֹן (suzafon)brass instrument
Hungarian szouszafon
- szouszafonbrass instrument
Irish súsafón
- súsafónbrass instrument
Italian susafono
- susafonobrass instrument
Japanese スーザフォン
- スーザフォン (sūzafon)brass instrument
Korean 수자폰
- 수자폰 (sujapon)brass instrument
Norwegian Bokmål sousafon
- sousafonbrass instrument
Persian سوسافون
- سوسافون (susâfon)brass instrument
Polish suzaphon
- suzaphonbrass instrument
Portuguese sousafone
- sousafonebrass instrument
Russian сузафо́н
- сузафо́н (suzafón)brass instrument
Spanish susáfono
- susáfonobrass instrument
Swedish sousafon
- sousafonbrass instrument
Thai ซูซาโฟน
- ซูซาโฟน (soo-saa-fohn)brass instrument
Turkish suzafon
- suzafonbrass instrument
Ukrainian сузафон
- сузафон (suzafon)brass instrument
Vietnamese kèn sousa
- kèn sousabrass instrument
Cite this entry
APA
sousaphone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sousaphone
MLA
“sousaphone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sousaphone. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sousaphone,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sousaphone.
Source: sousaphone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.