marimba

American  

[muh-rim-buh] / məˈrɪm bə /

noun

marimbas plural

1. a musical instrument, originating in Africa but popularized and modified in Central America, consisting of a set of graduated wooden bars, often with resonators beneath to reinforce the sound, struck with mallets.

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marimba British  

/ məˈrɪmbə /

noun

1. a Latin American percussion instrument consisting of a set of hardwood plates placed over tuned metal resonators, played with two soft-headed sticks in each hand

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• marimbas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of marimba

1695–1705; < Portuguese < Kimbundu or a related Bantu language; akin to kalimba

Example Sentences

He holds small mallets in his “hands” to play a kind of xylophone called a marimba.

From NewsForKids.net • Apr. 1, 2024

A marimba repairman came to rescue an aging instrument in Guatemala’s Los Angeles consulate.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2023

Kathryn Jean Holt was about 20, playing the marimba at an Orange County USO dance, when she met Richard Koch, an Air Force bombardier and soon-to-be medical student.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2023

The orchestral ensemble — 19 string players augmented by a five-octave marimba and a low bass drum — becomes a metaphor for the forest.

From New York Times • Mar. 6, 2023

With a final kick, a final marimba concert, a final autumnal lunge through leaf stacks, they went home.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury