xylophone

American  

[zahy-luh-fohn] / ˈzaɪ ləˌfoʊn /

noun

• xylophones
  plural

1. a musical instrument consisting of a graduated series of wooden bars, usually sounded by striking with small wooden hammers.

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xylophone British  

/ ˈzaɪləˌfəʊn /

noun

1. music a percussion instrument consisting of a set of wooden bars of graduated length. It is played with hard-headed hammers

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• xylophonist
  noun
• xylophonic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• xylophones
  plural

Etymology

Origin of xylophone

First recorded in 1865–70; xylo- + -phone

Compare meaning

How does xylophone compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• vibraphone vs. xylophone
• glockenspiel vs. xylophone

Explanation

A xylophone is a long musical instrument with wooden bars that is played by hitting it with small, hammer-like mallets. The xylophone produces bright, sharp tones when stuck with these hard-headed mallets. The xylo- part of this word comes from the Greek for wood — xylon — and clues us in to what gives this instrument its unique sound: the graduated bars representing tones of the scale. A related word in English is xylem, the tissue that forms the woody part of plants. The phone part means "a sound" in Greek. If your instrument has metal bars instead of wooden ones, it is more likely to be a glockenspiel, not a xylophone.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

xylophone xylophones

He holds small mallets in his “hands” to play a kind of xylophone called a marimba.

From NewsForKids.net ● Apr. 1, 2024

“Let’s work together to keep your account safe and protect you from fraud,” a recorded voice said, over a tinkly melody that sounded like a xylophone.

From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2023

The article paints a scene of company employees striking a metal xylophone and applauding as they jubilantly gaslight their customers.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2023

They would weave through the cemetery with their marimbas — a percussion instrument with a warm sound, similar to a xylophone — between the elevated tombs, playing traditional Latin music.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2022

But for many instruments, such as piano, organ, harp, bells, harpsichord, xylophone — any instrument that cannot be fine-tuned quickly — tuning is a big issue.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Otherwise, as a famous Brit once sang backed by sinuous xylophones, “Baby, baby, baby, you’re out of time.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

I wish it sounded like tinkling bells and xylophones.

From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026

These instruments tend to be bells, gongs, types of xylophones and other kinds of pitched percussion instruments.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2024

Musical instruments like tambourines, wrist bells and shakers, as well as toy pianos and xylophones, are everywhere, and a pretend music mixer invites preschoolers to play with light switches, levers, dials and reels.

From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2015

It sounded like a hundred xylophones inside a stone tomb.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith