Meaning & use
hornist
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Meanings
nouncountablemusic
A musician who plays the French horn, usually in an orchestra or brass group.
Grammar: Countable: say a hornist or two hornists; the plural adds -s.
Patterns
- a hornist in an orchestra
- play something as a hornist
She trained as a hornist and now plays with a national orchestra.
The hornist sat at the back of the brass section, waiting for the solo.
Two hornists were needed for the new symphony he had written.
nouncountablerare
A person who plays any kind of horn, such as an animal horn or a hunting horn.
Grammar: Countable and less common; context usually makes clear which kind of horn is meant.
Patterns
- a hornist with a hunting horn
In the old painting, a hornist sounds a call across the valley.
The village hornist blew a long note to mark the start of the hunt.
Word forms
| plural | hornists |
|---|
Common combinations
- principal hornist
- He was appointed principal hornist of the city orchestra last year.
- a talented hornist
- The conductor praised the talented hornist after the concert.
- hornist in the brass section
- As a hornist in the brass section, she has to blend carefully with the trumpets.
- solo hornist
- The solo hornist stood up to take a bow.
Synonyms and how they differ
- horn player
- The everyday term; it fits informal writing better, while hornist sounds more formal and specialized.
- French horn player
- More explicit about the instrument, and more common than hornist in general speech.
Word family
Commonly confused: hornist or horner?
hornist vs horner
Not a standard word for a musician; do not use it in place of hornist.
Practice
Which sentence uses "hornist" correctly?
Choose one answer.
Hornist is a noun for a person who plays the French horn, so it fits "a hornist in the national orchestra". The other options wrongly use it as a verb or as a thing (the horn of a car), which are jobs for the word horn.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hornist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.