hautboy UK /ˈhəʊˌbɔɪ/US /ˈhoʊˌbɔɪ/ noun3 •(old-fashioned) An oboe or similar treble double reed instrument.I […] told John a Gaunt he beat his own name; for you might have thrust him and all his apparel into an eel-skin; the case of a treble hautboy was a mansion for him, a court […] — 1596 •A tall-growing strawberry, Fragaria elatior, having a musky flavor.In May we have strawberries, which continue in season two or three months. These are of the wood kind; very grateful, and of a good flavour; but the scarlets and hautboys are not known at Nice. — 1766 •A reed stop on an organ giving a similar sound. formshautboys