guitar

American  

[gi-tahr] / gɪˈtɑr /

noun

1. a stringed musical instrument with a long, fretted neck, a flat, somewhat violinlike body, and typically six strings, which are plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum.

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guitar British  

/ ɡɪˈtɑː /

noun

1. music a plucked stringed instrument originating in Spain, usually having six strings, a flat sounding board with a circular sound hole in the centre, a flat back, and a fretted fingerboard. Range: more than three octaves upwards from E on the first leger line below the bass staff See also electric guitar bass guitar Hawaiian guitar

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guitar Cultural  

1. A stringed musical instrument (see strings) usually played by strumming or plucking. Guitars are widely used in folk music and, often amplified electronically, in country and western music and rock 'n' roll.

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Other Word Forms

• guitar-like adjective
• guitarist noun

Etymology

Origin of guitar

1615–25; < Spanish guitarra < Arabic kītārah ≪ Greek kithára kithara

Explanation

A guitar is a musical instrument with a long neck and strings. When you play the guitar, you press the strings with one hand to make a note, and strum with the other hand (unless, of course, you are playing air guitar). The section of a guitar where your fingers form a note is called the "fingerboard." An acoustic guitar has a hollow body that vibrates with warm sound when you pluck or strum the strings, and an electric guitar is solid and plugs into an amplifier that projects the sound. The word guitar comes from the Spanish guitarra, which has its roots in the Greek kithara, a lyre-like stringed instrument.

Example Sentences

She added that there was a "punk sensibility" to the family, but said the songs will "go beyond the pub-rock guitar" sound associated with wrestling, particularly in the US, in favour of something more eclectic.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

But I never was one of those guitar players who lived for the solo.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

He was a diminutive guitar deity who could only have descended in America, but calling him something so plain and mortal as “American” still feels close to sacrilege.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026

“We used to sit around and play guitar all the time,” Mr. Richards later recalls.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

“Hey, my guitar wasn’t hurt by all that bouncing around. I think this calls for a new song.”

From "Wolfie & Fly" by Cary Fagan