What does cornet mean?
Word: Cornet
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Cornet means a brass musical instrument like a small trumpet. In older British English it also means a biscuit cone for ice cream.
How do you spell cornet?
Syllables: cor - net
Tricky part: Keep it to two beats. A very similar word has an extra o in the middle, and the two are easily mixed up.
Watch out for: kornet, cornnet
Memory tip: A cornet player counts two beats here, not three. Say the word on two beats and no extra vowel can slip in.
Cornet in a sentence
Example 1: Jonah practises the cornet for an hour after school.
Example 2: The school band has two trumpets and a cornet.
Example 3: A clear cornet solo opened the concert.
Fun Fact
The name means a little horn. It comes through Old French from the Latin cornu, a horn, and the same Latin word lies behind unicorn, a creature with one horn.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Fill both blanks and choose the correct option:
1. The band leader played a solo on her shining ___. 2. In the school play, the young princess wore a small jewelled ___.
a) 'cornet' in both
b) cornet/coronet
c) coronet/cornet
d) 'coronet' in both
Show answer
b) cornet/coronet. Sentence 1 needs something played and sentence 2 something worn on the head.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
corn_t
a) i
b) e
c) o
d) a
Show answer
b) e. The vowel is the same one that closes trumpet.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their meanings:
1. cornet 2. harp 3. flute a. a brass instrument played by pressing three valves b. a thin pipe held sideways and played by blowing across a hole c. a big upright frame of strings plucked with the fingers
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b. Valves belong to the brass one, plucked strings to the harp and the sideways pipe to the flute.
Sound Check
In which word is 'or' pronounced differently?
a) corner
b) hornet
c) worker
d) cornet
Show answer
c) worker. Worker has the sound of bird in its first part; the rest have the sound of door.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which group would most likely need a cornet player?
a) a drum circle
b) a marching band
c) a string quartet
d) a ballet class
Show answer
b) a marching band
2. On a hot seaside trip, a British grandparent buys you a strawberry cornet. What will you most likely do with it?
a) post it before noon
b) eat it before it melts
c) tune it before the concert
d) wear it before the show
Show answer
b) eat it before it melts
