harmonica

American  

[hahr-mon-i-kuh] / hɑrˈmɒn ɪ kə /

noun

1. Also called mouth organ.  a musical wind instrument consisting of a small rectangular case containing a set of metal reeds connected to a row of holes, over which the player places the mouth and exhales and inhales to produce the tones.

2. any of various percussion instruments that use graduated bars of metal or other hard material as sounding elements.

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harmonica British  

/ hɑːˈmɒnɪkə /

noun

1. Also called: mouth organ.  a small wind instrument of the reed organ family in which reeds of graduated lengths set into a metal plate enclosed in a narrow oblong box are made to vibrate by blowing and sucking

2. See glass harmonica

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Etymology

Origin of harmonica

Noun use of feminine of Latin harmonicus harmonic; in the form armonica (< Italian < Latin ) applied by Benjamin Franklin in 1762 to a set of musical glasses; later used of other instruments

Example Sentences

In addition to drums, Ranken played the harmonica and provided vocals for the group.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2026

Nicknamed "The Clobberer", Ranken played drums, percussion, harmonica and provided vocals for The Pogues in the 90s and 00s.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

An example of a highly creative response includes words like "galaxy, fork, freedom, algae, harmonica, quantum, nostalgia, velvet, hurricane, photosynthesis."

From Science Daily • Jan. 25, 2026

That persistent harmonica intro or, god-forbid, his later forays into doo-wop were an eternal annoyance, part of the reason he started looking for some alternative in the first place.

From Salon • Dec. 14, 2025

Gift number four was a harmonica and a book about playing it.

From "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky

Related Words

• harp