didgeridoo

IPA/ˌdɪdʒəriˈduː/
IPA/ˌdɪdʒəriˈduː/

didgeridoo — noun

  • didgeridoosingular
  • didgeridoosplural

1. A traditional Australian wind instrument, carved from a hollowed tree branch or

1.noun
Definition

A traditional Australian wind instrument, carved from a hollowed tree branch or piece of bamboo, that gives off a deep, vibrating hum when air is blown through it.

Example

Ravi heard a didgeridoo playing at the local music festival in Darwin.

collocation: playing at [event]

The museum in Sydney has a didgeridoo made from a hollow tree branch.

passive: made from a hollow branch

Common collocations
  • play the didgeridoo
  • didgeridoo player
  • didgeridoo music
  • learn the didgeridoo
  • traditional didgeridoo

Grammar Patterns

play + the + didgeridoo

didgeridoo + [verb]

Usage Note

The word is a countable noun and is often used with the definite article: 'the didgeridoo'. In traditional Aboriginal cultures, the instrument is typically played by men during ceremonies.

Word family

  • didgeridooist
    noun

Common collocations

Nouns

  • didgeridoo player
  • didgeridoo music
  • didgeridoo sound
  • didgeridoo lesson

Phrases

  • play the didgeridoo
  • learn the didgeridoo

Etymology

Australian EnglishEnglish

The word 'didgeridoo' first appeared in written English around 1919, and is thought to have been coined by non-Indigenous Australians who tried to imitate the instrument's deep, rhythmic sound with their speech. It is an onomatopoeic word — one that sounds like the thing it describes.