electric guitar

American

noun

a guitar equipped with electric or magnetic pickups that permit its sound to be amplified and fed to a loudspeaker.

electric guitar British

noun

an electronically amplified guitar, used mainly in pop music Compare acoustic guitar

"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

Etymology

Origin of electric guitar

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Thudding drums, an electric guitar that chugs like a tank’s engine turning over and blaring trumpet fanfare announce the onset of football on CBS, Fox and NBC.

From Salon • Mar. 18, 2026

She sang traditional gospel songs with contemporary jazz tempos that she played on her electric guitar.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

“People think I’m on drugs because of my appearance,” says Joe H., a lanky, long-haired brunette holding an electric guitar on his lap.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

And then the moment you may have feared arrives: In 1949 the first solid-bodied electric guitar is produced by the Fender Electric Instrument Co.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

Zu had been sitting right behind him, moving in time with the music, her entire body rocking out to the wailing electric guitar.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023