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pedal steel guitar

American  

noun

  1. an oblong, floor-mounted electrified guitar, usually having ten strings, fretted with a steel bar and producing a wailing sound that is modulated by use of a foot pedal.


pedal steel guitar British  

noun

  1. a floor-mounted, multineck, lap steel guitar with each set of strings tuned to a different open chord and foot pedals to raise or lower the pitch

"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

Etymology

Origin of pedal steel guitar

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

It was a stew of steelpans, trombones and pedal steel guitar.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 2, 2023

They were the first bluegrass group of national renown to incorporate drums, electric bass, pedal steel guitar and even, on records, string sections.

From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

With a lineup that included drums and electric instruments such as pedal steel guitar, it was the first military band devoted to country and bluegrass music.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 31, 2021

Drake, who died in 1988, is the first pedal steel guitar player to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 16, 2021

The backing band included several players from Tennessee and Texas — singer Bobby Whitlock, trumpeter Jim Price — with Pete Drake playing pedal steel guitar on the Dylan-influenced “Behind That Locked Door.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2021

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