Meanings
plural steelbands
- A band in which all musicians play steelpans.
The Nigerian army has a steelband, as do the Dutch police service and as did, until 1999, the US Navy.
2004, Milla Cozart Riggio, Carnival: Culture in Action – The Trinidad Experience, →ISBN, page 2042 more examples
The steelband movement has always had an attraction for "smartmen" — men who saw the movement as something to be exploited.
1991, George Goddard, Forty years in the steelbands, 1939-1979, page 120The steelband movement today remains a vital and influential part of the artistic life of Trinidad and Tobago
1995, Stephen Stuempfle, The Steelband Movement: The Forging of a National Art in Trinidad, →ISBNSynonyms: steel pan orchestra
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA band in which all musicians play steelpans.
Origin
Cite this entry
steelband. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/steelband
“steelband.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/steelband. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “steelband,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/steelband.
Source: steelband on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.