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.

---

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

---

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

And Mr. Smith, who also uses electronics, employed a trap set, vibraphone, and much of a symphony orchestra’s percussion section.

From The Wall Street Journal

Squeezing past a set of congas he came to his signature instrument – the vibraphone.

From BBC

Immanuel Wilkins’s alto saxophone and Joel Ross’s vibraphone initially function as dual narrators.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Modern Jazz Quartet remade “Summertime” as elegant chamber music, weaving piano and vibraphone in transparent counterpoint.

From The Wall Street Journal

On “Rated OG,” he adds intriguing curlicue accents to a chord progression rendered on vibraphone as a forceful, distorted bass riff chugs along underneath.

From The Wall Street Journal