harmonica

American  

[hahr-mon-i-kuh] / hɑrˈmɒn ɪ kə /

noun

• harmonicas
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• harmonicas
  plural

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

Explanation

A harmonica is a musical instrument that's small enough to fit in your pocket. Harmonicas are especially popular in blues bands. Harmonicas have between 10 and 16 small holes, each with a small reed behind it. Players blow through one or more of the holes, changing the sound by pulling air at times instead, altering the shape and tension of the mouth, and by opening and closing their hands around the harmonica. Using these methods, great harmonica players can extract beautiful, complex sounds from this tiny instrument. The Greek root of harmonica is harmonikos, "musical."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

harmonica harmonicas

I came clean and told Pop the whole story, selling it under the guise of patriotism — and with three-part harmony and a harmonica.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

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

His lips crawled over the square holes of the harmonica like fat, puckered caterpillars.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

About 80 guitars are included in the auction, alongside amplifiers, gold and silver records, posters, memorabilia and a collection of harmonicas.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

On Venus, sounds that are caused by solid objects vibrating, like harmonicas or reed organ pipes, would be pitched down because the atmosphere is dense and soupy.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2025

I was imagining a Fellini-esque street parade with party hats, guitars and harmonicas, but decided that such a cinematic allusion would only reveal my age.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2018

It would also appear that their coffins came furnished with a great assortment of musical instruments, including fiddles, guitars, banjos, tambourines and harmonicas.

From New York Times ● Jul. 16, 2017

You might get out the mouth harmonicas and interest them in 107 them.

From Young Auctioneers The Polishing of a Rolling Stone by Edward Stratemeyer

Related Words

• harp