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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

And Azerbaijan's Mamagama go all Maroon 5 on Run With U, a smooth pop song elevated by a twinkling riff on the saz – a long-necked plucked instrument similar to the lute.

From BBC ● May 9, 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

For “Bound,” Huang turned to Vietnamese instruments, using both the đàn bầu, a type of lute, and đàn tranh, a type of zither.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 7, 2023

Then a wide, wicked grin spread across his face and he bent to tuck his lute safely away.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

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

If the apparatus be accurately luted, this alteration of level will be permanent; whereas, if there be the smallest, opening in any of the junctures, the liquid will very soon recover its former level.

From Elements of Chemistry, In a New Systematic Order, Containing all the Modern Discoveries by Lavoisier, Antoine

After packing the work carefully in the boxes the lids are sealed or luted with fireclay to keep out any gases from the fire.

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

Sibvu´tütük´mula A series of bottomless jars piled above each other, and luted together as a chimney-top.

From A Study of Pueblo Architecture: Tusayan and Cibola Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1886-1887, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 3-228 by Nichols, Henry Hobart

After filling to the top with compound, the lid D is luted on.

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

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

It is smooth reading, and is attributed to Bertrand de Born,3 who lived in the time when even the lion-hearted King Richard turned his brawny fingers to the luting of a song.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 70, August, 1863 by Various

The wind of vision died in my brain; and lo, The jangling of the caravan's long gait Was small as the luting of a breeze in grass Upon my ears.

From Georgian Poetry 1911-12 by Marsh, Edward Howard, Sir

Put two or three spoonfuls of water to them, and cover them close with another dish, luting their joyning that nothing may expire.

From The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by MacDonell, Anne

Read of a death among the five thousand:— A gang has been ordered to cut clay for the luting of the coke furnaces.

From From Sea to Sea Letters of Travel by Kipling, Rudyard

Related Words

• adhesive
• mud
• plaster
• sand