Brass vs. Woodwind — What's the Difference?

Brass instruments or their players considered as a group.

A wind instrument in which sound is produced by the vibration of reeds in the mouthpiece, as a bassoon, clarinet, oboe, or saxophone, or by the passing of air across the mouthpiece, as a flute.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve varying mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other within the same crystal structure.

The section of a band or orchestra composed of woodwind instruments.

A yellowish alloy of copper and zinc, sometimes including small amounts of other metals, but usually 67 percent copper and 33 percent zinc.

Woodwind instruments or their players considered as a group.

Ornaments, objects, or utensils made of this alloy.

(musical instruments) Any (typically wooden) musical instrument that produces sound by the player blowing into it, through a reed, or across an opening. Woodwind instruments include the recorder, flute, piccolo, clarinet, oboe, cor anglais and bassoon.

The section of a band or an orchestra composed of brass instruments.

Any wind instrument other than the brass instruments

A memorial plaque or tablet made of brass, especially one on which an effigy is incised.

A bushing or similar lining for a bearing, made from a copper alloy.

(Informal) Bold self-assurance; effrontery.

(Slang) High-ranking military officers or other high officials.

Chiefly British Money.

(uncountable) A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications.

A memorial or sepulchral tablet usually made of brass or latten

Fittings, utensils, or other items made of brass

(music) A class of wind instruments, usually made of metal (such as brass), that use vibrations of the player's lips to produce sound; the section of an orchestra that features such instruments

Spent shell casings (usually made of brass); the part of the cartridge left over after bullets have been fired.

(uncountable) The colour of brass.

High-ranking officers.

A brave or foolhardy attitude; impudence.

Money.

Inferior composition.

A brass nail; a prostitute.

Made of brass, of or pertaining to brass.

Of the colour of brass.

(informal) Impertinent, bold: brazen.

(slang) Bad, annoying; as wordplay applied especially to brass instruments.

Of inferior composition.

(slang) Brass monkey; cold.

(transitive) To coat with brass.

An alloy (usually yellow) of copper and zinc, in variable proportion, but often containing two parts of copper to one part of zinc. It sometimes contains tin, and rarely other metals.

A journal bearing, so called because frequently made of brass. A brass is often lined with a softer metal, when the latter is generally called a white metal lining. See Axle box, Journal Box, and Bearing.

Coin made of copper, brass, or bronze.

Impudence; a brazen face.

Utensils, ornaments, or other articles of brass.

A brass plate engraved with a figure or device. Specifically, one used as a memorial to the dead, and generally having the portrait, coat of arms, etc.

Lumps of pyrites or sulphuret of iron, the color of which is near to that of brass.

An alloy of copper and zinc

A wind instrument that consists of a brass tube (usually of variable length) blown by means of a cup-shaped or funnel-shaped mouthpiece

The persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something;

Impudent aggressiveness;

An ornament or utensil made of brass

The section of a band or orchestra that plays brass instruments

A memorial made of brass