trombone
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
To extend and retract (the zoom lens); to use it too enthusiastically.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
[…] do things wrong (like rotating the lens turret while shooting or backwinding and doing multiple passes on the same strip of film or doing in-camera fades with the variable shutter or tromboning a zoom lens like a teenager on acid, etc., etc., etc.) […]
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “trombone” mean?
To extend and retract (the zoom lens); to use it too enthusiastically.
Is “trombone” formal or informal?
trombone is generally slang.