ukulele

American  

[yoo-kuh-ley-lee, oo-koo-ley-ley] / ˌyu kəˈleɪ li, ˌu kʊˈleɪ leɪ /

Or ukelele

noun

1. a small, guitarlike musical instrument associated chiefly with Hawaiian music.

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ukulele British  

/ ˌjuːkəˈleɪlɪ /

noun

1. a small four-stringed guitar, esp of Hawaii

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ukulele Cultural  

1. A small guitar, developed in Hawaii, with four strings.

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Etymology

Origin of ukulele

1895–1900, < Hawaiian ʿukulele leaping flea ( ʿuku flea + lele to jump, leap), a nickname given to British army officer Edward Purvis (who popularized the instrument at the court of King Kalakaua), in reference to his lively playing style

Explanation

The happy little Hawaiian stringed instrument that looks like a small guitar is a ukulele. Most ukuleles have four strings and are light enough to be strummed by anyone, including kids. The ukulele, or uke, as it's frequently called for short, comes in four standard sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone, and even more less-common variations. The larger the uke, the deeper and louder its sound. Some ukuleles are even double-strung, with a total of eight strings. A good ukulele player's fingers move extremely fast, which explains its name, which means "leaping flea" in Hawaiian.

Example Sentences

However, by the time he left the shop, he had bought a guitar, a ukulele and another piece of equipment.

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026

I opened two of his shows playing ukulele.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

Jenkins played baritone ukulele, harmonica, hummed and used bird calls in her work while pulling influences from Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew, Korean, Swahili and other languages.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2024

First loudly, with a ukulele, to convince her early-20th-century immigrant dad to spring for swimming lessons; later, softly, to herself as she prepares to become the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

From New York Times • May 30, 2024

Through barter and the generosity of a few friends, he soon owned a ragged collection of old stringed instruments—a mandolin, several guitars, an old ukulele, and two banjos.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown