banjo

[ ban-joh ]

noun

, plural ban·jos, ban·joes.

1. a musical instrument of the guitar family, having a circular body covered in front with tightly stretched parchment and played with the fingers or a plectrum.

banjo

/ ˈbændʒəʊ /

noun

1. a stringed musical instrument with a long neck (usually fretted) and a circular drumlike body overlaid with parchment, plucked with the fingers or a plectrum
2. slang.
   any banjo-shaped object, esp a frying pan
3. slang.
   a long-handled shovel with a wide blade
4. modifier banjo-shaped

   a banjo clock

banjo

1. A stringed musical instrument, played by plucking ( see strings ). The banjo has a percussive sound and is much used in folk music and bluegrass music.

Derived Forms

• ˈbanjoist, noun

Other Words From

• banjo·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of banjo¹

First recorded in 1730–40; compare Jamaican English banja, bonjour, bangil, Brazilian Portuguese banza; probably of African origin; compare Kimbundu mbanza a plucked string instrument

Word History and Origins

Origin of banjo¹

C18: variant (US Southern pronunciation) of bandore

Example Sentences

Alison Brown, she’s part of the band, so I always think about her banjo playing when I’m writing.

From Washington Blade

He soon traded an electric guitar — a Christmas gift that he barely played — for a banjo.

From Washington Post

Fascinated by drumming, he took apart a banjo when he was about 12 and used the head as a drum, playing brushes softly in a jazz style.

From Washington Post

I loaded my car with the essentials—guitar, banjo, running shoes, backpack, tent, sleeping bag, topo maps, cold-brew coffee apparatus—feeling like I was reentering adulthood.

From Outside Online

Banjo sauntered into their suburban split-level Alexandria home last month for a one-week trial and never left.

From Washington Post

The twang we hear as emblematic of white country music is actually the direct descendant of black folk music banjo.

From The Daily Beast

Well someone gave that kid a banjo and a Wi-Fi connection and told him to go to town.

From The Daily Beast

In her down time, she plays the banjo in an all-girl band, Loose Gravel.

From The Daily Beast

When he was 11, his father built him a banjo, at first fashioning the head out of groundhog hide.

From The Daily Beast

Before Earl Scruggs, banjo players were not front men, but they were funny.

From The Daily Beast

A banjo lies on top of a piano—hired—and two of the boys take music lessons.

From Project Gutenberg

He seemed subdued, and hummed and strummed on his banjo, as if he couldn't get hold of what he wanted to let out.

From Project Gutenberg

Bob took the banjo with the air of a martyr and tuned it skilfully.

From Project Gutenberg

Every second house in the place was a saloon, and every saloon seemed to have a billiard-table and a banjo player.

From Project Gutenberg

The chorus came roaring out and across the street; ceased; and the banjo slid into the next verse.

From Project Gutenberg