lute

¹ American  

[loot] / lut /

noun

1. 

   a stringed musical instrument having a long, fretted neck and a hollow, typically pear-shaped body with a vaulted back.

---

verb (used without object)

luted, luting

1. to play a lute.

verb (used with object)

luted, luting

1. to perform (music) on a lute.

   a musician skilled at luting Elizabethan ballads.

2. to express (a feeling, mood, etc.) by means of a lute.

   The minstrel eloquently luted his melancholy.

lute ² American  

[loot] / lut /

noun

1. luting.

---

verb (used with object)

luted, luting

1. to seal or cement with luting.

lute ³ American  

[loot] / lut /

noun

1. a paving tool for spreading and smoothing concrete, consisting of a straightedge mounted transversely on a long handle.

---

verb (used with object)

luted, luting

1. to spread and smooth (concrete in a pavement) with a lute.

lute ¹ British  

/ luːt /

noun

1. Also called: luting. a mixture of cement and clay used to seal the joints between pipes, etc

2. dentistry a thin layer of cement used to fix a crown or inlay in place on a tooth

---

verb

1. (tr) to seal (a joint or surface) with lute

lute ² British  

/ luːt /

noun

1. an ancient plucked stringed instrument, consisting of a long fingerboard with frets and gut strings, and a body shaped like a sliced pear

---

Etymology

Origin of lute¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English lut(e), luet, luit, from Middle French, Old French leut, lut, from Old Provençal laut, from Arabic al ʿūd oud ( def. )

Origin of lute²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Old French lut and Medieval Latin lutum, “mud, dirt, clay; clay for modeling”

Origin of lute³

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; from Dutch loet

Explanation

A lute is an old-fashioned stringed instrument that looks like a small, pear-shaped guitar. The lute appears in many of Shakespeare's plays. You might also see a lute player at a Renaissance Faire. The wooden body of a lute is very round, while the front is flat with strings extending up the long neck to frets, like a ukulele or a guitar. Lute players are called luthiers, and they play mainly by plucking the strings, rather than strumming them. The word lute comes from the Old Provençal laut, from the Arabic root al-'ud, "the wood."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lute luted luting

Ms. Salvant’s 2023 release, “Mélusine,” included songs that dated back to the 12th century, sung in four languages, and made prominent use of the theorbo, the plucked lute used for Baroque basso continuo accompaniment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

Franglen's creations included a long-necked lute, similar to a Turkish saz, with strings that represent the rigging of the Wind Traders' ship.

From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025

A Dutch guide to marine life from the late 1500s claims that some whale species “like to hear music played on the lute, harp, flute and similar instruments.”

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2024

Jein even had the Vulcan lute played by Leonard Nimoy’s “Mr. Spock.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2023

He studied literature and poetry, attended the theatre regularly and continued to play the lute to a high standard.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

I wouldn't trade the cramped, pol luted, noisy and ungovernable city for any purified and antiseptic community in the U.S.

From Time Magazine Archive

After marking, all holes and parts which are to remain uncarburized are plugged or luted with a mixture of kaolin and Mellville gravel clay, and the gear is packed in the carburizing material.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Fred H. (Fred Herbert) Colvin

The charging orifice is then closed, the aludels are luted, and everything made tight.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 312, December 24, 1881 by Various

Sheet iron box luted at bottom with water.

From Paint Technology and Tests by Henry A. Gardner

He shall not open on the Sabbath a vessel the cover of which has been luted on.

From The Covenanters of Damascus; A Hitherto Unknown Jewish Sect by George Foot Moore

In the meantime his glass breaks, yet he upon better luting lays wagers of the success, and promiseth wedges beforehand to his friend.

From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various

Now fit the whole pipe, bowl inverted, on to the under one, luting the edges of both well with clay.

From Getting Gold: a practical treatise for prospectors, miners and students by J. C. F. (Joseph Colin Frances) Johnson

Argoil: potter's clay, used for luting or closing vessels in the laboratories of the alchemists; Latin, "argilla;" French, "argile."

From The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems by D. Laing Purves

Wine-stained moments on the wing, Moonlit hours go luting by, She who leads the flight of Spring Leads the midnight revelry.

From A Lute of Jade : selections from the classical poets of China by L. (Launcelot) Cranmer-Byng

At first there came over only phlegm, afterwards a black oil, and then also a spirit arose, which he could noways condense, but it forced the luting, or broke the glasses.

From Coal and What We Get from It by Raphael Meldola

Related Words

• adhesive
• mud
• plaster
• sand