electric guitar

American  

noun

• electric guitars
  plural

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

---

electric guitar British  

noun

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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• electric guitars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of electric guitar

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

electric guitar

In one corner stood his electric guitar, plugged into an amplifier.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Every song that you know of Van Halen, I heard from an unplugged-in electric guitar from four inches away, going, “Too long.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026

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

And as if to seal the deal, instead of learning to play electric guitar, I’d gone and chosen the cello.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman