guitar

American  

[gi-tahr] / gɪˈtɑr /

noun

1. a stringed musical instrument with a long, fretted neck, a flat, somewhat violinlike body, and typically six strings, which are plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum.

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guitar British  

/ ɡɪˈtɑː /

noun

1. music a plucked stringed instrument originating in Spain, usually having six strings, a flat sounding board with a circular sound hole in the centre, a flat back, and a fretted fingerboard. Range: more than three octaves upwards from E on the first leger line below the bass staff See also electric guitar bass guitar Hawaiian guitar

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guitar Cultural  

1. A stringed musical instrument (see strings) usually played by strumming or plucking. Guitars are widely used in folk music and, often amplified electronically, in country and western music and rock 'n' roll.

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Other Word Forms

• guitar-like adjective
• guitarist noun

Etymology

Origin of guitar

1615–25; < Spanish guitarra < Arabic kītārah ≪ Greek kithára kithara

Example Sentences

By offloading the menial stuff to an artificial-intelligence, she says she has freed up time she wouldn’t otherwise have, which she now spends taking guitar and singing lessons.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Things as they are / Are changed upon the blue guitar,” Stevens wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal

Using AI agents to compare insurance plans and order groceries means more free time for riding bikes and playing the guitar.

From The Wall Street Journal

After the panicky Ray-Ray passes his guitar case to Sonny, out tumbles . . . a guitar, not the shotgun Sonny expected.

From The Wall Street Journal

Burying my nose in the flowers, I sidestepped a legendary grandparent on roller skates and a couple of guys carrying guitar cases to reach the drive-in menu, posted at the service stall.

From Literature