guitar

[ gi-tahr ]

/ gɪˈtɑr /

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noun

a stringed musical instrument with a long, fretted neck, a flat, somewhat violinlike body, and typically six strings, which are plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum.

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Origin of guitar

1615–25; <Spanish guitarra<Arabic kītārah ≪ Greek kithárakithara

Words nearby guitar

guisard, guisarme, Guiscard, guise, guising, guitar, guitarfish, guitarist, guitguit, Guitry, Guiyang

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

How to use guitar in a sentence

Practicing guitar in a chair with arms can be pretty tricky.
Best desk chair for any home office|PopSci Commerce Team|February 11, 2021|Popular-Science
He also plays guitar well enough to have at least once sat in at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe, the jumping-off venue for such notables as Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift.
NIH Director Francis Collins Is Fighting This Coronavirus While Preparing for the Next One|Belinda Luscombe|February 4, 2021|Time
Getting his first guitar at 13, he formed a musical group called the Heppers, playing the popular skiffle music of the time.
The Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine dies at 77|Phil Davison|January 31, 2021|Washington Post
Eva had sung it during a gig at the Maryland Inn in Annapolis, accompanying herself on guitar.
Twenty-five years after her death, Eva Cassidy’s music is as timeless as ever|John Kelly|January 26, 2021|Washington Post

This tough, stretchy, lightweight plastic shows up in everything from swimsuits and sportswear to fishing line and guitar strings.
Bye-bye batteries? Power a phone with fabric or a beacon with sound|Kathryn Hulick|January 6, 2021|Science News For Students
He played it through once, singing the lyrics softly to his own guitar accompaniment.
How Martin Luther King Jr. Influenced Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’|Peter Guralnick|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The guitar is tuned to E, and an Eminor chord on a guitar just rings and rings forever.
Yes, I Like Christmas Music. Stop Laughing.|Michael Tomasky|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This performance of Bob Dylan's 1971 blues tune features Clapton on guitar.
Joe Cocker's Deep Live Cuts|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sid Vicious is stomping all over Steve Jones, about to smash in his guitar (again).
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk Paintings|Melissa Leon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He captures Ramone and his second wife, Barbara, together in the studio in one photo, him on bass, her on guitar.
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk Paintings|Melissa Leon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
See the ease and grace of the lady in the sacque, who sits on the bank there, under the myrtles, with the guitar on her lap!
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
It was eleven o'clock before the river was crossed and the headquarters of Colonel Guitar reached.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Of this force, Colonel Guitar ordered one hundred to accompany him to Fulton.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
When this became known to the few Union inhabitants of Fulton they implored Guitar not to do it.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Lawrence and Dan were told of the danger that threatened Fulton, and they determined to accompany Guitar in his expedition.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn

British Dictionary definitions for guitar

guitar

/ (ɡɪˈtɑː) /

noun

music a plucked stringed instrument originating in Spain, usually having six strings, a flat sounding board with a circular sound hole in the centre, a flat back, and a fretted fingerboard. Range: more than three octaves upwards from E on the first leger line below the bass staffSee also electric guitar, bass guitar, Hawaiian guitar

Derived forms of guitar

guitarist, nounguitar-like, adjective

Word Origin for guitar

C17: from Spanish guitarra, from Arabic qītār, from Greek kithara cithara

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 guitar

guitar

A stringed musical instrument (see strings) usually played by strumming or plucking. Guitars are widely used in folk music and, often amplified electronically, in country and western music and rock 'n' roll.