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

Example Sentences

He's a massive Steelers fan, a music obsessive, and has played mandolin and guitar in bluegrass and country-rock bands in Brooklyn, Mexico City, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

From The Wall Street Journal

“That’s what they call it, but it was just her hand. Taylor was out of town, so they shot my mom’s hand holding the guitar.”

From Literature

We hear a Fender Rhodes piano, strummed electric guitar and a spare trumpet, conjuring images of a late night in a smoky club.

From The Wall Street Journal

She’s 16, and by now she knows how to issue perfect sound bites: “I think every citizen should be given an electric guitar on her sixteenth birthday.”

From Salon

People play instruments at the Ranch, guitars and banjos, but no one ever dances.

From Literature