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

Kiss breakfast, hosted by Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely, also went down by about 218,000.

From BBC

He’d play for his castmates, often with Ed Helms on banjo or Craig Robinson on keyboards.

From Los Angeles Times

“Obviously the banjo’s got African roots too. Country music came from people in the South and Appalachia, slaves and indentured servants from Europe, each gathering and trading stories.”

From Los Angeles Times

In the years since he and fellow "Daily Show" alum Steve Carell closed down "The Office," Helms has appeared in numerous films and TV series without quite landing on a long-term project, and also become a regular on the bluegrass circuit playing banjo, guitar and piano with his band the Lonesome Trio.

From Salon

It wasn’t “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels calling to ask him to play Minnesota’s Gov. Tim Walz or anything related to his 2-year-old Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, Sonny, who, since we last spoke, has mostly outgrown his chewing and now seems content to listen to banjo music all the livelong day.

From Los Angeles Times