sitar

American  

[si-tahr] / sɪˈtɑr /

noun

sitars plural

1. a lute of India with a small, pear-shaped body and a long, broad, fretted neck.

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sitar British  

/ ˈsɪtɑː, sɪˈtɑː /

noun

1. a stringed musical instrument, esp of India, having a long neck, a rounded body, and movable frets. The main strings, three to seven in number, overlie other sympathetic strings, the tuning depending on the raga being performed

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sitarist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sitars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sitar

First recorded in 1835–45, sitar is from the Hindi word sitār

Explanation

A sitar is a stringed instrument used in classical Indian music. Music you hear at an Indian restaurant or in a Bollywood movie probably features the distinctive twangy drone of the sitar. Although thousands of years old, the sitar got famous in the West in the 1960s when bands like the Kinks and the Beatles used sitars in popular songs. Sitars have long necks and as many as 21 strings. It's like a guitar, but in addition to the six or seven strings that a sitar player plucks, there are more that vibrate beneath the frets, called "sympathetic strings." Despite all these strings, the word sitar means "three-stringed" in Persian.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sitar sitars

The 15-track album blends Western pop and hip-hop with traditional Indian classical instruments like the sitar and sarod.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

"I'm a professional musician, and also teach music," Amir Hussain Khan, a sitar player, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Apr. 11, 2026

We never got to find out who Elvis, with his magpie love for all music, might have become if he’d traveled the world and gotten to pick up an ashram sitar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

The sleeve notes credit players of the sitar and the tabla, the Kashmiri santoor and the South Indian kanjira.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025

The tabla player followed the notes of the sitar like a shadow.

From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan

The Beatle most associated with sitars and yoga poses was the last one anyone would expect to become a business prophet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

There have also been arrangements of the song for full orchestra, string quartet, mariachi band and an ensemble of sitars.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 23, 2022

“Expanding the Band” explores the way the classic four-piece rock band was augmented by instruments like dulcimers, sitars and a range of experimental keyboards to expand the sound.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 3, 2019

Redgrave’s hit song is a perfect parody of London pop, sitars and all.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 21, 2016

Our parents didn't speak to each other, but Ma served tea, sang that Tagore song, and—according to Baba's version—fireworks exploded and a thousand sitars burst into music.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins