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

“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

Bird Jam has a Cadillac hubcap and nitrogen tank as its body, with wings attached to a miniature banjo.

From Los Angeles Times

Backstory: At 17, Martin taught himself to play banjo, which later became part of his stand-up comedy shtick.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, he hit up a regional chain whose longtime jingle is a banjo riff set to the straightforward motto of, “Save big money at Menards.”

From Salon

Meanwhile, hundreds of commenters took to Quinto’s most recent Instagram post, a video of him playing the banjo, to leave heated opinions about his behavior.

From Los Angeles Times