banjo

[ ban-joh ]

/ ˈbæn dʒoʊ /

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Definition of banjo

noun, plural ban·jos, ban·joes.

a musical instrument of the guitar family, having a circular body covered in front with tightly stretched parchment and played with the fingers or a plectrum.

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Origin of banjo

First recorded in 1730–40; compare Jamaican English banja, bonjour, bangil, Brazilian Portuguese banza; probably of African origin; compare Kimbundu mbanza a plucked string instrument

OTHER WORDS FROM banjo

ban·jo·ist, noun

Words nearby banjo

banister back, banisters, Banja Luka, Banjarmasin, Banjermasin, banjo, banjo clock, banjolele, Banjul, bank, Banka

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use banjo in a sentence

He soon traded an electric guitar — a Christmas gift that he barely played — for a banjo.
Bill Emerson, acclaimed banjoist who founded two premier bluegrass bands, dies at 83|Terence McArdle|August 31, 2021|Washington Post
Fascinated by drumming, he took apart a banjo when he was about 12 and used the head as a drum, playing brushes softly in a jazz style.
Charlie Watts, Rolling Stones drummer and band’s rhythmic mainstay, dies at 80|Matt Schudel|August 24, 2021|Washington Post
I loaded my car with the essentials—guitar, banjo, running shoes, backpack, tent, sleeping bag, topo maps, cold-brew coffee apparatus—feeling like I was reentering adulthood.
The Humble Minivan Is Due for a Rebrand|Henry Colt|July 1, 2021|Outside Online
The twang we hear as emblematic of white country music is actually the direct descendant of black folk music banjo.
The Cultural Crimes of Iggy Azalea|Amy Zimmerman|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Well someone gave that kid a banjo and a Wi-Fi connection and told him to go to town.
Michael Cera’s ‘true that’ Review: So Melancholy, So Cool, So Damn Long|Amy Zimmerman|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In her down time, she plays the banjo in an all-girl band, Loose Gravel.
Could Michelle Obama Run for the U.S. Senate?|Eleanor Clift|March 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When he was 11, his father built him a banjo, at first fashioning the head out of groundhog hide.
Doc Watson, a Legendary Picker, Was Traditional Music’s Best Ambassador|Malcolm Jones|May 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Before Earl Scruggs, banjo players were not front men, but they were funny.
Earl Scruggs, Dead at 88, Pioneered a Banjo Style Imitated but Never Equaled|Malcolm Jones|March 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A banjo lies on top of a piano—hired—and two of the boys take music lessons.
The Leaven in a Great City|Lillian William Betts
He seemed subdued, and hummed and strummed on his banjo, as if he couldn't get hold of what he wanted to let out.
The Belted Seas|Arthur Colton
Bob took the banjo with the air of a martyr and tuned it skilfully.
Queensland Cousins|Eleanor Luisa Haverfield
Every second house in the place was a saloon, and every saloon seemed to have a billiard-table and a banjo player.
Wandering Heath|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
The chorus came roaring out and across the street; ceased; and the banjo slid into the next verse.
Wandering Heath|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for banjo

banjo

/ (ˈbændʒəʊ) /

noun plural -jos or -joes

a stringed musical instrument with a long neck (usually fretted) and a circular drumlike body overlaid with parchment, plucked with the fingers or a plectrum

slang any banjo-shaped object, esp a frying pan

Australian and NZ slang a long-handled shovel with a wide blade

(modifier) banjo-shapeda banjo clock

Derived forms of banjo

banjoist, noun

Word Origin for banjo

C18: variant (US Southern pronunciation) of bandore

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for banjo

banjo

A stringed musical instrument, played by plucking (see strings). The banjo has a percussive sound and is much used in folk music and bluegrass music.