Illustration of bagpipe
: a wind instrument consisting of a reed melody pipe and from one to five drones with air supplied continuously either by a bag with valve-stopped mouth tube or by bellows
—often used in plural
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This is a wind instrument that consists of two or more single- or double-reed pipes. The reeds are vibrated by wind caused by arm pressure on a skin or cloth bag. The pipes are held in wooden sockets tied into the bag, which is inflated either by the mouth or by bellows strapped to the body. Melodies are played on the finger holes of the melody pipe, or chanter, while the remaining pipes, or drones, sound single notes. Bagpipes existed by c. 100 ce. The early bag was an animal bladder or a nearly whole sheepskin or goatskin. Bagpipes have always been folk instruments. An important related instrument is the Irish union (or uilleann) pipes.
Examples of bagpipe in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There will be bagpipes, an honor guard, speakers and a wreath presentation.
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Heather McRea, Orange County Register, 21 May 2024
Looking through the third floor windows of City Hall, employees watched as bagpipe players led a Kansas City Police Motorcycle Unit down Locust Street.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 9 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for bagpipe 
Heather McRea, Orange County Register, 21 May 2024
Looking through the third floor windows of City Hall, employees watched as bagpipe players led a Kansas City Police Motorcycle Unit down Locust Street.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 9 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for bagpipe
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bagpipe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Bagpipe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bagpipe. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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