vibraphone

American  

[vahy-bruh-fohn] / ˈvaɪ brəˌfoʊn /

noun

1. Also vibes a musical percussion instrument that resembles a marimba and is played with mallets, but that has metal instead of wooden bars and has a set of electrically powered resonators for sustaining the tone or creating a vibrato.

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vibraphone British  

/ ˈvaɪbrəˌfəʊn, ˈvaɪbrəˌhɑːp /

noun

1. a percussion instrument, used esp in jazz, consisting of a set of metal bars placed over tubular metal resonators, which are made to vibrate electronically

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Other Word Forms

• vibraphonist noun

Etymology

Origin of vibraphone

First recorded in 1925–30; from Latin vibrā(re) “to shake” + -phone

Compare meaning

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

• vibraphone vs. xylophone

Example Sentences

The song moves briskly but gently until an urgency takes hold, when bass and vibraphone build a growing fury that spills into Mr. Wilkins’s playing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 25, 2025

Ayers began playing the piano at the age of five and went on to play several instruments and sing in the church choir before plumping for the vibraphone.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2025

When Puts reaches for percussion instruments, he chooses the sweeter ones — glockenspiel, crotales, chimes, vibraphone — and combines them luxuriously.

From New York Times • May 6, 2024

The riches haven’t materialized yet, DeBardi stressed, as he listed the instruments — everything from a vibraphone to timpanis to guitars — he bought on the cheap when he had “like, $300 to my name.”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 16, 2024

Music historians will always remember him as the man who introduced the vibraphone into jazz.

From 100 New Yorkers of the 1970s by Millard, Max