Meaning & use
saxophonist
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who plays the saxophone, especially as a profession or serious activity.
Grammar: Countable noun: a saxophonist, two saxophonists, the saxophonist's solo.
Patterns
- a saxophonist in a band
- a jazz saxophonist
The saxophonist played a slow, soulful solo.
She hired a saxophonist for the wedding reception.
He is a talented saxophonist who performs with several groups.
Word forms
| plural | saxophonists |
|---|
Common combinations
- jazz saxophonist
- The club features a different jazz saxophonist every Friday.
- lead saxophonist
- As lead saxophonist, she opened the concert with a solo.
- session saxophonist
- He works as a session saxophonist for recording studios.
- play the saxophone
- She learned to play the saxophone in high school.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sax player
- Sax player is informal and common in everyday speech; saxophonist is more formal and often used in professional contexts.
Word family
- saxophone noun
- A metal wind instrument with keys, played by blowing into a reed mouthpiece.
- sax noun
- Informal short form of saxophone.
Commonly confused: saxophonist or saxophonist?
saxophonist vs saxophonist
Spelling: remember the -phon- middle, as in 'phone'. It is not spelled 'saxaphonist'.
Practice
Choose the correct word: 'The ______ played a beautiful melody on his instrument.'
Choose one answer.
A person who plays the saxophone is a saxophonist. 'Saxophone' is the instrument, 'saxophonic' is an adjective, and 'saxophonist's' would need a following noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “saxophonist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.