uilleann pipes

plural noun

uil·​leann pipes ˈi-lən- How to pronounce uilleann pipes (audio)
variants often Uilleann pipes
: an Irish bagpipe with air supplied by a bellows held under and worked by the elbow

Examples of uilleann pipes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Kieran O’Hare, who teaches the Irish uilleann pipes after decades playing, agreed. — Daniel Kool, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2023 This allows Flaherty and Ahrens to customize song forms to suit each moment and explore genres that fit the milieu — cue the fiddle and uilleann pipes. — Jesse Green, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2022 Ian Eisendrath’s dynamic onstage rock ensemble emphatically has the chops (not to mention the fiddles, bodhrans, Irish bouzoukis and uilleann pipes). — San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2022 There are also seven musicians onstage, playing everything from electric guitar and bass to accordion, fiddle, mandolin, tin whistles and uilleann pipes. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Dec. 2022 Moloney founded the Chieftains in 1962 alongside Sean Potts and Michael Tubridy, playing the uilleann pipes and bodhrán. — Andrea Towers, EW.com, 13 Oct. 2021

Word History

Etymology

uilleann from Irish, genitive singular of uillinn elbow, from Old Irish uilen; akin to Old English eln ell — more at ell

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of uilleann pipes was in 1906

Rhymes for uilleann pipes

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Browse Nearby Words

uilleann pipe
uilleann pipes
uinal
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Cite this Entry

“Uilleann pipes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uilleann%20pipes. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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